Removing flags to gain a 'proper' garden--I posted in chat and have been directed here (thank you)!

[thewitchery]

I've just bought my 'forever home' (I am single and childfree).
When I first got my eye on the house, the garden was lovely, a lawn, loads of bushes and shrubs, buzzing with bees and butterflies.

Come to it being on the market and the previous occupants have flagged the whole thing (😡).

I would probably keep just a small 'path' of flags in the middle to give myself a non-wet and muddy walkway in the colder seasons but otherwise I want rid of the lot of them as they look a twat awful IMO.

I am on a low income in my 'main' job although I do regularly pick up well-paying freelance work. The latter is sporadic so if possible I want to do this frugally.

Suggestions from friends include advertising the flags for 'Free to person who removes' as they can work out quite expensive and people might want them.
I could also just splash out and get someone in to sort out the lot.

Or pay someone just to remove the flags-I'd rather they went to someone because even though I personally hate them, as far as flags go they're a nice colour and they're fairly new.

And then what, once they're removed am I being silly to think I could just rake the ground and stick some lawn seed down and do some planting and that's that?

This situation is not my forte at all. Has anyone ever DIY'd a situation like this?

(On the post in 'chat' others have informed me that I will likely need to remove a lot of sand, too. The flags are cemented down).

I'm 'up North' (well, Yorkshire!) for context.

Remember pots need watering daily in the summer and that is a faff as well

I've got small trees in pots as the roots wreck your underground pipes and can lift paving etc if you plant into the ground.

I wouldn’t be rushing to plant anywhere near my house. some buildings insurance companies ask if youve a tree within the vicinity and presumably charge more!!

so as others have said, go for pots and planters for a while until you know what you want and where the shaded areas are etc.

Terracotta do because they're porous but glazed or plastic containers only need it occasionally. (I'm a reluctant waterer because arthritis makes it hard)

That looks like quite a lot of work to remove (and expensive to establish a lawn). It's quite a small space for a lawn as presumably you would still want a small patio area? I think the cost and work involved would be disproportionate.

As the flagstones are already down I would work within its limitations for a while and see how you get on, as others have suggested. You could create a beautiful low maintenance, courtyard style garden with significantly lower cost without the upheaval. Focus on beautiful shrubs and very dwarf trees with a long season of interest, which will detract attention away from the flagstones.

It looks as if you do have some planting spaces around the edges alternating between the flagstones, and at the end of the garden. You could concentrate on improving the soil in these planting spaces for shrubs or dwarf trees. Choosing varieties which will have growth softening the edges of the patio will change its character and make it seem more like a proper garden. It could give you an interesting garden all year round. Use pots for in between these planting spaces with a focus on perennials, bulbs and annuals - these can be rotated, showing them off when they are displaying at their best.

There is also a rectangular gravelled bed close to the house - this could be a focus for lower growing shrubs, perennials and bedding plants.

If you wanted to take up a few flagstones I would concentrate on the edges where you already have some planting areas, and making them wider, and also making the existing gravel bed at the front wider to create a planting focal point. But I wouldn't do that until you've worked with what you have for a while. You might be surprised with how great it can look within an existing framework and choosing plants carefully for greatest impact.

You can advertise free flags must most remove yourselves....l see alot of those adverts.

Yes excellent advice.

I'm a garden designer. I would happily have a look at your garden and make some suggestions for a layout with minimal changes to the existing?? I work with a lot of people doing it themselves so working with little to no skills and very limited budgets. DM me if you are interested.

Thank you
My friend who told me he'd remove the flags today hasn't shown up yet....

I will PM you, do you want some more photos of it?

Thank you all, sorry work has been manic, I haven't replied to everyone but I have read and appreciate all the responses!

T
Yes anything you have. Measurements of you have them too.

my garden was all slabs. I took up two areas to make beds, and it was loads of work as I had to dig out 6 inches of hardcore and sand and then put in topsoil and manure and compost. So maybe decide on an area you’d like to start with and do that bit as a test zone? Once it has grown in it will soften things.

Also, are you sure it’s been concreted and not just that the slabs are very heavy? I couldn’t lift mine myself but I could tell it was sand in between them. Concrete would make the whole thing impervious to rain which is a very bad idea so you definitely need a solution with more drainage!

Some photos, I will take some better ones later on. S'cuse the pooch,i just thought perhaps that particular photo may show how they're fitted.