My wasteland, what do?

Good afternoon! My first post here, begging for some ideas and so on.

My partner and I recently moved into a house with a relatively large garden, sort of terraced and pretty much uncultivated and full of weeds and stuff. There is a lot of raspberry and bramble spreading everywhere, and two other plants are quite prominent. I'll post a photo shortly.

There is also a lot of cottoneaster I think, which has been cut down to stumps now. When we got here they were huge unmanageable bushes, now they're just untidy looking messes of twisted stems and extensive root systems. There's also an inexplicably bare bank with a few strawberries on. We like the strawberries but not the bare soil.

The paths are lines with roof slates, which is a nice idea but they cut right through the soles of your wellies if you're not careful, so I want to fix that. The paths at the side of the garden are narrow, and quite steep, but the path across the middle is quite wide. I think I could use some timber to define that part, and maybe some of the borders of the terraces too.

We would like to have a tidy looking garden, but our budget isn't large. I have access to pretty much all tools and machinery I can imagine would be necessary, and lots of untreated lengths of wood (full rounds, bark still on, 4-6ft length).

I'm posting here because I'm feeling totally overwhelmed by it, I just don't know what to do. The bare soil looks a mess, the brambles look a mess and when they are cut back they look even worse - stout stubble on bare earth. Euch.

So if anyone has any ideas, I'd love t o hear them! Thanks


Our nice silver birch tree and freaky face thing.


The narrow path up one side of the garden, poorly defined using roofing slates.

There is a pond in there somewhere...


Another view of the path up one side of the garden.


A view from the lower patio up to the top of the garden. Note the heavily pruned horrible cottoneaster(?), and the other prolific weed to the right. And horribly bare soil eeeeeverywhere.


Patchy, weedy grass at the top of the garden.



The extent of the grass at the top of the garden.


Same narrow path on the side of the garden.


Buddleja - can this be pruned down to the bottom few branches? Is this beneficial? it would be nicer if it was bushier rather than tall and stupid.



Horrible horrible weed, euphorbia of some kind? Spreads everywhere, has horrible green genital-esque flower and exudes a horrid latex. What to do with this? Why is it here in the first place!?



View down to patio from first terrace.


You can see the slate borders. I was thinking of pulling up and using posts here since the path is a bit wider. Not sure about all the rubbish on the ground. Ideas?

 

More photos (sorry y'all!)







The other horrible weed.


Another view of path across the middle.







I did plant some peas and beans...


Gravel path is bare in places, and there's a lot of junk lying around. I think all of the rubber mats and compost bags are there to suppress weeds. Anyone have any better ideas!?

Thanks again

 

Where in the UK are you and what direction is the garden facing?

Because there is no accounting for taste (or lack of)! Probably doing so well because it likes a well drained soil.

 

Garden faces south, quite a sun trap. We're in mid Wales.

 

How lucky you are to have such a nice garden with so many different angles, views and things in it. You've got some lovely plants there and mature trees and paths and a shed. Lucky man. When I got mine it was just bare soil and it really did look like wasteland. Yours just looks a bit untidy, that's all.

You say a lot of stuff has recently been cut down: well that explains the way most of it looks, it's only temporary - I wouldn't worry about the stumps and roots, just rake the surface debris, spray vinegar on the weeds, plant new plants over it (in nice deep holes with plenty of compost) and mulch around them to supress the old growth. Don't forget what was there before - it tells you what will grow well there in the future. If it's grass you want then just plant it (turn over the top surface if you can); the grass will suppress the old stuff if you keep mowing it.

The biggest difference you can make to that garden is to get that grass growing to make a lawn if you can, once you've worked out why there are bare patches.

I wouldn't worry about some things you mentioned yet. Weeds? Leave them: regular mowing forces the grass to create new shoots which will crowd out the weeds. The path? You're lucky to have one, they're a lot of work to make from scratch; that one just needs a new surface. Sand or nice pebbles would be a quick fix.

Looking at that scrabby lawn and the slopes, the rain probably runs off the top field, leaching your top surface and leaving it compacted when it's dry. If you're not happy with the geography of the slopes then you can draw a plan and change them a section at a time but otherwise I'd want to plant lines of shrubs or ground cover to stabilise the soil and retain the moisture.

But, before you've done any of that, can you take a soil sample perhaps from the top and bottom of the garden - so you know what's there? Is it sticky on a wet day? If you moisten a lump and knead it what happens? Can you work it like like Plasticine, does the ball stick together or is it gritty, does it break into small or large pieces, what does it feel like?

Water an area and then dig a 2ft square hole - what do the sides look like - is there a pan? Fill it with water. How long does it take to drain away?

 

Go to war on that now. Weedkiller first and then blood, sweat and tears digging it out. You may be able to identify the Raspberry roots and runners and pot these up temporarily.

Dig them out. They ain't got much going for them and do spread.

Ultimately I think that you need to look to an alpine planting. But that's in the future.

But you are a capable type of person?

I would be too!

Not cheap in garden centres! It's a perennial geranium. They can be invasive, so if it were me they would be gone.

General thoughts;
If the budget stretches to it I think that the shed is in the wrong place. I would be looking at cutting into the top bank and constructing a block built rear and side walls, plywood front covered with some half timbers in a stable style (if that makes sense?). Construct it to carry a decking area on top (I hate decking, but this is a situation that it is ideally suited to). All this will make better use of the space (the slopes, and the area where the current shed is) and provide an outdoor space to relax in. It will also move the shed to a better central location.

Start at the top and work down. It will take time, so go into it with eyes wide open or your spirit may flag.

As has been mentioned already, consider drainage. Gulleys on the paths, possible water collection vessels etc.

I would personally retain the slope style planting areas. Look for largish rocks to a] break these areas up and b] provide some support after you've dug them over.

Retain the top area as a lawn area and maybe in the future a fruit orchard?

Just keep in mind that it will all take time.