Where to start - moving house

[instantpotnoodle]

We’re hopefully moving in the next few months to a house with a mature decent sized front and rear garden. I’m definitely not an experienced gardener but really want a wildlife friendly space, places to grow veg and fruit…

how do you go about working out what’s in the garden, what you want to keep, what you want to remove…I don’t want to make a mess of it!

Don’t do anything for a year - see what comes up.

just do basic maintenance, tidy the edge of the lawn and mow a path through it, if you want to do any pruning, do it straight after flowering. Don’t pull anything up until you have identified it.

if you want veg, try growing in pots on the patio or on any path.

observe how the sun moves round your garden, think about what you need - places to sit out, in sun and shade, somewhere to hang the washing, somewhere to store pots and compost, a compost heap, etc.

Definitely agree with watching and observing your garden for the first year. See what plants emerge, checkout how you use the garden and where the sun hits and shade forms. Take a look around your neighbourhood too to see which of their trees and plants are thriving. For wildlife introduce some water, log piles and feeding stations.

Don’t do anything for a year - see what comes up.
Absolutely. This is standard advice.

You don't plan to fail ("I don’t want to make a mess of it!") so don't fail to plan.