Help...my garden is the shame of the neighbourhood

[bananalover]

basically, I am crap at gardening, cant tell one plant from another. Not that we actually have any plants. Our garden is a tip and an embarressment.
Main problem is the lawn...its not grass anymore, just weeds and moss.
Have tried those weedkiller granules on it, but it did not work, the weeds stayed put!
Would love to have a proper lawn and borders , I dream of borders, with flowers in
Dont have much spare time though.
Can anyone advise please, just have no idea where to start.

Instead of Ivy, try growing something you can eat? - eg Loganberries or Tayberries? Just tie the branches back to the fence.

Whatever you do, just remember you don't need it transform it in just one year - the best gardens develop slowly

Bear in mind that weeds in lawns only look awful if they grow really long. Our lawn is mostly stuff other than grass, mostly daisies and dandelions but we cut it once a week (and it only takes 20 mins so not that hard to do)and it looks fine and from a distance really smart, they key is to keep it trimmed though.

If you really don't want to be digging borders and weeding etc I would plant some flowering shrubs that will grow up in front of the fence, will withstand footballs and won't need much care other than the occasional chop back when they get too big. Grow the stuff thats in other people's gardens nearby and you don't need to worry about waht kind of soil you have.

thanx...good advice!

don't worry about testing soil ph etc

if something is growing well in your neighbours' gardens it is likely to grow well in yours. Look over the fence and see what looks rampant!

thankyou. [shocked] sorry, can just imagine my neighbours face as i peer over his fence.