Small yard, budding ambition

[Girlwhofelltoearth]

I have never done any gardening in my life. The standard I'm at is keeping a cactus indoors alive (just about).

Would love to do some more without giving my tiny backyard a complete overhaul and wanted to ask for your ideas. Have attached some photos for references. What were once beds are now borders filled with slate. Not too much I can do about this at the moment.

I'm starting to fear both my yard and I are beyond help 👀

What would you like to see? And how much effort do you want to put in?

One easy option would be to buy some large pots and plant them up.

Or, if you don't want to do much about the slate/ the fact it's paved, you could grow things that are shallow-rooted: so, perhaps you could plant some alpines or spurges into the slate beds. Again, I'd add to this with pots of other things.

If you wanted to do more, it does look like a gorgeous space. When you say the borders are full of slate, what do you mean? Could you dig it out, and is there compost/soil underneath? I think I would go for a clematis or other climber up your beautiful brick wall. It's clearly in sun some of the time - how much? If it's a sunny, south-facing wall, you have loads of choices. If not, you may need to think.

In the top left corner in your first photo, you seem to have quite a shaded space. Perhaps some epimediums or ferns?

It looks like a lovely project! You will make it beautiful.

Sarah above asks the right questions.

Buy yourself something nice to sit on out there and a little table and pUt it in the sunniest spot to entice you out there so you can look and think.

start buying things you can use as pots - maybe check out junk shops for old containers you can repurpose, or ask your local Italian or Indian for the huge tins their tomatoes come in, or start a collection of elegant pots, and plant those up with whatever catches your eye.

@LadyGardenersQuestionTime @SarahAndQuack thank you both so much. I really am quite clueless so it's great to have some ideas to think about. It's south facing but a little shady at the back as we back on to a cemetery.

This year we have a lot to pay for so I can't prioritise the garden how i'd like to but I'm hoping to do a couple of bits to make it look a bit prettier. I think pots are definitely the way to go though I'm wary my 2 year old will also use the space! I have a little dining set and some string lights from last summer so at the moment im just thinking about colour and plants I can inject so I have something nice to look at ☺️

If you want to get rid of the slate, try offering it on Freecycle or FB marketplace or the like, with the stipulation the taker do the labour of removing it.

I think this could be a beautiful space. You've already got some lovely features - the wall, and beds for planting. Plus a seating area and sunshine. I wold try and get rid of the slate. You could just plant some flowering evergreen shrubs initially, dotted around, maybe a climber too - clematis armandii will grow quickly - to form the backbone. Then you can add to them next year.

Just don't cut the overhanging hedge until birds have finished nesting - I think June/July?

That's lovely.
Is there a sunny spot? You could grow some veg. The raised beds with the slate still in situ would be fine for growbags. You literally cut a hole and put a plant in it. Tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, peppers. Not exactly pretty but definitely green and you can eat what you grown then either bin the lot at the end of the season or use the spent compost in the garden. It's depleted of nutrients but will add bulk.

We’ve got a couple of local gardening swap FB sites and free cycle.people are often giving away or selling for v little outdoor chairs, tables, pots etc. I’d get some pots and compost, the bigger the pot the better, less watering. Buy some lettuce seeds and calendula and poppies. Sow the lettuce and calendula and pop the poppy seeds on the slate, if there’s any soil at all they’d grow. Calendula

Our garden was a bit like this when we moved in too...

I planted lots of alpines as they love sunny baked borders.. You can get some nice ones which will trail over the sides.
Agree with the fruit veg growing too Tomatoes and courgettes are easy to grow and maintain.

I'd definitely cut back all that Ivy too.

Have a look at the reduced section of any garden centre you can find some great bargains, they usually need planting, feeding and watering and spring back to life.