Beginners top tips please

[ItsBouqeeeet]

Please don't judge 🙈 our back garden (small) has always been a mud bath. With a puppy and a baby, we decided to lay artificial grass. Fast forward 3 years, we've ripped it up, threw a load of grass seed down and miraculously, it's grown!

I'd really like some low maintenance plants/flowers/ways to brighten the garden. Preferably low cost too!

Any ideas welcome 😊

Perennials. Then you don't need to replace every year. Cost effective if you buy in 9cm pots and grow on before planting

No judgement! Delighted you've ditched the fake grass!

How big is the garden, and how big the spaces you want plants in?
Any idea what the soil is like and how much light the places get, what direction facing? Those are the biggest factors in your choice of plants.
If you post a couple of pics of where you want to grow things even better.
There are literally thousands of kinds of plants so you need to narrow down according to conditions. Then it gets easier.
Great that you're developing an interest in making your garden nice! 🌿

Now is not a great time for planting, since August is likely to be hot and dry, and perennials may not get established properly before the winter.

I'd say, get a few big gardening books out of the library (RHS and Collins are good), work out the soil / light levels/ wetness or dryness of the various corners of your garden, and make a plan. Then start buying plants in spring.

It might be worth having shrubs rather than perennial plants, which can look a bit of a state in the winter. Shrubs can also take a battering from pets and kids and bounce back.

Look for euonymus (evergreen and comes in a variety of green/white/yellow leaf combinations), potentilla (yellow, white or red flowers in summer) and cotoneaster (flowers in spring and berries in autumn).
If you have a dry, sunny spot, that would be ideal for rosemary.

It might be worth having shrubs rather than perennial plants, which can look a bit of a state in the winter. Shrubs can also take a battering from pets and kids and bounce back.

Look for euonymus (evergreen and comes in a variety of green/white/yellow leaf combinations), potentilla (yellow, white or red flowers in summer) and cotoneaster (flowers in spring and berries in autumn).
If you have a dry, sunny spot, that would be ideal for rosemary.

Bulbs are a good option Op, if you buy good quality bulbs they'll flower for years. If you look for bulbs which naturalize they spread over time - bluebells and daffodils both spread and look great together

My top tips are grow a small selection of different plants repetitively around the garden instead a bit of this/a bit of that. And if you plant something that doesn’t thrive, most plants can be moved to another area of the garden (sunnier, shadier etc.)

Yes to bulbs! They can be planted in the autumn - which month depends on whether they're late or early bloomers, it will say on the packet. Tete a tete is a pretty and reliable daffodil to start off with. It flowers before the bluebells, though. Crocuses are also a good choice because they're nearly the first to flower and make you feel like spring is coming.

My top tip is to watch your garden. See where the sunny spots are, work out which bits get a bit more shade and then start from there.

Plant in odd numbers, it looks so much better than planting in even numbers.

I’d probably start thinking abut what you want out of your garden now and then start plant shopping in spring time when there’s much more choice.

Have mix of evergreen and deciduous plants. A mix of shrubs and perennials.

That’s all I can think of right now. Oh and if plants aren’t thriving in a certain spot they can always be moved to a spot where they will be happier.

It’s exciting planning a new garden. Good luck!

Also this! Repetition is good!