Well it up to you you can prune it but like a said you are going to be cutting off nearly all of the flowers off which start forming during the summer months.
Argh I don’t know what to do! I can see the nest, can I prune really really carefully by hand or will that still upset the baby birds?
You have the bare bones of a nice garden. The cheapest option is to work with what you have and turn it into what you want. I guess you don't have much of a budget so here are my (cheap) suggestions for the short term: 1. Tidy it all up. Prune back any overgrown shrubs, get rid of all weeds - if you need to use weedkiller, so be it. Any weeds in the paving areas - ie non planting areas, use something like Pathclear which will effectively kill the soil and prevent more weeds coming through. 2. Invest in a pressure washer and clean all the old slabs, paths, concrete area. 3. Get rid of the washing line and invest in a whirly (rotary) clothes drier and install it on the concrete bit behind the garage. You can put some pots there to tart it up a bit. Or even cover it in artificial turf if you can't stand the sight of it. 4. Reshape the lawn so it is a bit more interesting - a curvy deep border next to the left hand fence perhaps. 5. Keep the grass cut regularly - reseed any bare patches and fill in any hollows. 6. Plant some trailing plants in the brick planters to soften the edges. All of the above you can do yourself and will cost hardly anything. ~£100 and you can do it all in a weekend.
Now for the landscapers: 1. Get them to relay your existing patio slabs and deal with the level change. 2. Personally I would lift the path to the right and do a curved path through the grass which will be more interesting but that could be done with reusing the old slabs. That would also give you an opportunity to have a planting bed at the RHS.
Landscaping costs for the above if reusing existing slabs - 2 men for 2 days at £200 each = £800. + small amount for materials (sharp sand to relay slabs etc - say £50). Depending where you are in the UK. Look for small local companies - even a jobbing gardener could do the above and be much cheaper. Ask at your local garden centre for recommendations or your neighbours.
Longer term plan could be at some time to lift the concrete at the back of the garage - or you may even want to put a small greenhouse on it in the future if you really catch the gardening bug. And perhaps when money allows, to replace your existing slabs with something prettier.
Thank you, this is really helpful. I might get some quotes, and some opinions on if/how many of the old flags are re-usable.
I wouldn't touch it for now Clare , when the birds have left just trim off any over long shoots which are out of shape with the rest of the shrub and see if the birds come back next year .
We did a garden makeover this year and paid just under £400 to have a concrete patio removed (approx. 3x7 metres, plus a bit of brick wall and all taken away in a skip).
This was the only part we wouldn't be able to do ourselves or it wouldn't make sense to DIY (borrow tools, hire skip... it wouldn't end up much cheaper).
Then, it depends on the materials.
And you can DIY, it's not too complicated. Or you can do all the work that doesn't need any qualification - prepare it for laying new slabs, level it etc. and then only pay for the rest. Or you could do something easy like gravel edged with timber.
If you want to get rid of the old pavers, you could lift them * and get rid of them on Freecycle. People always seem to be looking for old paving slabs for shed bases, allotments, etc. * If you have friends with bit of muscle, a bit of beer and pizza bribery could work. They might also bring their own pickaxe and break up any hardstanding (make sure they wear goggles to protect their eyes). You could just store the paving slabs in a corner somewhere while you work out exactly what you want the layout to be, and then reuse any that are suitable . As has been said above, you could use gravel or bark in addition to paving, that will save some money.
I like the idea of doing what I can to save money.
i have a sledgehammer, I could easily smash up the old flags and put them in a skip, the amount I can lift it would take roughly 150 trips though I reckon!
will the concrete hardstanding for the shed smash up so easily though? That’s really the ugliest bit!
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Argh I don’t know what to do! I can see the nest, can I prune really really carefully by hand or will that still upset the baby birds?
* If you have friends with bit of muscle, a bit of beer and pizza bribery could work. They might also bring their own pickaxe and break up any hardstanding (make sure they wear goggles to protect their eyes).
You could just store the paving slabs in a corner somewhere while you work out exactly what you want the layout to be, and then reuse any that are suitable . As has been said above, you could use gravel or bark in addition to paving, that will save some money.
i have a sledgehammer, I could easily smash up the old flags and put them in a skip, the amount I can lift it would take roughly 150 trips though I reckon!
will the concrete hardstanding for the shed smash up so easily though? That’s really the ugliest bit!