Help me transform my backyard (cheaply). Pics.

[moonmaker]

An a complete novice so bear with me
Moved into a rented property. My landlord has refused to do anything about the backyard but it's in a state . As the pic shows , weeds , moss everywhere , dirty flagging, badly weathered walls etc. Now I don't have a huge amount of money to transform it but really want to make it as nice and as child friendly as possible . I have a budget of around £400 but can stretch to £500 at a push ( I know that isn't much !).
I have 3 dc- 12,11 and 2. The older 2 might want somewhere to sit outside when it's warm and the little one would probably love an outdoor toy or two like maybe a mud kitchen and a slide or a water table .
Where do I start ? I really want to make it clean, attractive and homely .
All suggestions appreciated .
Thanks .

It will look fantastic when you have done OP. I will try and dig out some photos of my similar yard for you. It looked amazing with some tlc.

can you put those floor mats down over the slabs to make a nicer surface. We used them on our patio. I think they call them 'recreation matts' then you can put a little paddling pool on them in the summer for the youngest one.

Oh wow, what a transformation already. In the first photo there was no indication that I could see off the colourful slabs, brilliant.
Shame about more work needing doing to the walls than first thought, but still.
Not sure if anyone has suggested already, but what about covering the walls in bamboo screening.

Can anyone advise me re the walls and painting .
Can exterior walls be painted in around 5 degrees Celsius or will the slow drying affect the finish and quality of the work ?

Vita am going to attempt to sand and paint them, if it's still bad I'll probably attempt the screening

No, don't paint in such cold conditions.

Wait until the temperature is at least about 10 degrees.

moon, don't spend a lot of money on this and don't go mad with the wire brush either. You could end up destabilising the wall.

Embrace the 'rustic' appearance, paint the walls knowing that they will still be imperfect when done. It's fine. You can position some large plant pots over the worst bits when it's done. Or, like PPs have said, just put some screening up.

God what a difference, I thought you'd see something like that though.

When we bought our house three years ago I genuinely thought the patio was dark grey throughout. I jet washed it and was flabbergasted to find lots of different shades of paving.

Popchyk thanks for reigning me in - think I needed to hear this . However , it's soooo flaky. I'm fine with it being rustic and imperfect but am slightly worried that when I start painting it , it will be flaking as I paint and so the flakes Would mix In with the fresh paint ( or is this ok?)

Have you thought about containers and plants op? Some nice everygreens would look great. Poundshops are selling tomato plant kits in hanging baskets.

I think bamboo screening is the way to go since the walls are so flaky

You might find the paint sticks some of the flaky bits down. It will look a bit rustic, but like others have said just put something in front of the worst bits.

Hi everyone and thanks to all the contributors to this thread. An update

We used stabilising solution and 2 coats of masonry paint but to be honest the wall has so many gaps and is crumbling like anything so it still looks very messy :(

Put some planters but ds (2) picked all the flowers from where he could reach so not as many flowers as I'd love . Have a few hanging ones (3)

Table and chairs and also a loungrr since taking the picture
I know it looks like there's lots of bright plastic which isn't to my taste but ds is a handful and I've got to make it practical for him to play out!

I know it isn't perfect but it's working for us now
Need to hang the trellis up !
We've had a good few bbqs out and my older children absolutely love sitting out .

Looks lovely, what a difference the clean patio makes.

Looks so much better !!

Looks fab! Well done.

Fabulous transformation well done. I love the trellis on rustic wall go for more

It looks lovely! Wish I'd taken before pics of my garden now.

It looks so much better and what a lovely safe space for the kids.

Well done you, what an improvement! Enjoy your lovely garden 😀.

An incredible transformation! Am glad you came back to update.

The patio cleaning alone was a game changer. It all looks lovely.

Huge difference - thanks for updating!

This looks wonderful! It’s such an improvement, I’m really impressed. I don’t know if you have any drainpipes but I was just looking for some garden pots and saw this.

www.wilko.com/plant-pots+planters/wilko-drain-pipe-pot-holder-aubergine/invt/0445493

Could be a cheap/easy way to add some more colour to the garden and keep the flowers away from your son!

They don't look like the same paving slabs! It's looks lovely now, bet you're really pleased.