Suggestions needed - complete beginner

[Stormyinacoffeemug]

I have a small back yard (approx 4m long) crowded by two neighbouring yards. Tall, victorian houses. I think it points south west. Due to the placement of houses, only get direct sunlight to end of the yard for about 2 hours late evening. Triangle shaped with uneven slab-flooring. Crumbling brick separating wall on one side, old brick coal shed at the back with wooden gate next to it. Wall of my house is a rough, concrete like covering.

I want to create a tranquil space to relax of an evening/weekend with greenery/flowers but I don't know where to start. I struggle to keep houseplants alive. Low budget.

Any suggestions???

Also, front yard. Thin strip of land that used to be weeds. Landlord covered (badly) with plastic and put gravel down. Big weeds still grow all around the edges and need to be cut out regularly. Wrought iron fence around the edge.

I would love a few plants/flowers in the front to make the house look nicer. At the very least would love two pots each side of the door with a shrub/flowers but I Iive in a very high crime area. Short of concreting them to the floor I'm at a loss of what to do. Also, how to get rid of the weeds/nettles completely?

Attached pic (fingers crossed)

Shows coal shed, back gate, back door. The raised area is a small area of concrete that is more raised than the rest of the floor by about 7cm.

Yellow speckles is the sunny patch at the end of the day.

Blue lines are water pipes into the house and drains.

There’s a lot of scope for shade loving plants like ferns. They look lush & come in all shapes & sizes. Very Victorian.
My tiny garden is a struggle because it’s shady like yours. Neighbours’ vast tree to the South West doesn’t help. Load up a compass map on your phone so u can see sun direction from house.
I grow Clematis, roses, spring bulbs & blue bells, Cranesbill Geraniums, Peonies, Fuchsias, Calendula and Winter Jasmine. I have Golden Hop climbing the fence along with Boston Creeper (controlled) & a climbing Hydrangea.
Is there a gardening club near you? Allotments you could visit to talk to local gardeners? Look in neighbourhood gardens & see what they grow. Eg if they grow Azalea’s it’s likely yr soil is acidic. Ask & chat to folks working in their front gardens. Gardeners love to talk about their plots.
Watch every gardening programme you can & borrow books from library.
Sounds like you might need to get some help with tidying up the infrastructure but even if you end up with large pots, it can be joyful.
I’ll try to attach a pic of my tiny rear courtyard. It really is tiny but my raised beds are helpful.
I hardly buy any plants. I take cuttings from hedges & others’ gardens!!
My new fence needs staining but it’s a haven & I love it.

I had a tiny yard. First thing was sorted out level flooring, wasn’t too expensive. Then plonked a bench in sunny bit. I got big pots from Facebook, there’s a local garden swap/buy group where people sell or giveaway pots or established plants.

the secret to keeping plants alive in pots is the biggest pots/containers you can get, 2 foot across or bigger, water well once a week till water comes through bottom of pots, and feed.

there’s lots of ideas on reusing containers to grow plants.

you could make a raised bed from sleepers.

plant shade loving plants, ferns,fatsia, mahonia….if you are in the south a lot of house plants survive outside. If you can break through the surface plant a shade loving climber.

A common design is to go for the mediterranean look. Paint the walls in a pure white to reflect any light. Paint some other bits (furniture, pots, etc) in vibrant colours (turquoise, fuchsia, etc). Get a bit of height to give interest (pergola, small tree, climbers, etc). Plant lots of pots - you can give the best soil and watering, so your slab-flooring doesn't matter.

I suggest something prickly or thorny out front that people won't want to mess with eg holly, hawthorn, buckthorn, thorny variety of rose, etc.