First of all, that garden holds a lot of promise. Think of it as an adventure.
If you are on a tight budget, the way forward is to put in your own time, doing a bit every week.
And instead of buying plants at something like £5 - £30 per plant, buy seeds at £1 - £3 per packet of like 300 seeds.
Use an old bin and make your own compost with household things. However, don't use weeds and grass cuttings to make compost as they add their seeds which can lay dormant for a long time and when you put that compost to new plant areas, grass and weeds invade all over from those seeds and smother your new plants.
Don't use their roots for composting either as weeds send trains of roots underground which sprout shoots everywhere, making it very hard to get rid of later.
Buy a tall fork and spade and a small fork and spade from a second hand shop.
Dig out a small area in a corner about 2 feet wide and 4 feet long. Take the top 3 inches out and put it to pasture in a corner because most of the invasive weed and grass roots and seeds are in those 3 inches. Dig out and turn the next 9 inches at least, removing all the weed roots.
Buy a John Innes No. 1/2/3 compost for £4-£5 at Wickes or B&Q. Buy a peat based multi-purpose compost for about the same. Buy a farmyard manure sack at about the same price. If you can afford it, buy a Blood, Fish, and Bone fertilizer in granular format for a tenner, but the above will do if you cannot afford it.
Add the 2 composts in and mix in with the turned soil well with the fork & spade, keeping about 1/3rd of a sack of compost for later. Sprinkle and mix in a few cups of the fertilizer to the top 2 inches if you have it.
Buy seeds of about 3 plants you like. Buy those with the RHS PLANTS FOR POLINATORS label to have butterflies and bees in your garden. Or, for lots of different flowers, buy a BUTTERFLY MIX and a BEE ATTRACTING FLOWER MIX - 2 packets of seeds. put down the seeds carefully over the area, and put in about 1/2 an inch of the remaining compost over to cover it.
Put in some crocus bulbs here and there, too, if you want. They will flower in early spring.
You can sow now for seeds to be activated over winter and to germinate and sprout beautiful flowers starting early next spring.
When the new plants are about 6 inches tall, you can mulch in the manure in between them.
Do another small area like once a fortnight or so when you have some time and a bit of cash for the compost and the seeds. Stocks & Green, for example, have a great collection of seeds. Or try your local garden centre for them.
To be fair to others, I should mention other good sites: Marshalls, Crocus, J Parker, Middleton Nurseries, Thompson & Morgan, Sarah Raven, Farmer Gracie, Plant World Seeds, Hayloft, The Ginger Jungle, You Garden, Suttons. Also buy local and support your local gardening centre or florist and you save on the packaging and shipping.
I think, due to the OP's arthritis, just keeping the place clear and tidy just now is enough work I'd agree with @JennyJ - a pressure washer is worth trying, and even just the winter weather will make a difference in getting rid of that paint. You can then have a think about doing the paint if you don't want to replace, or can't afford that. A couple of pots for over winter will cheer things up if you fancy it - spring bulbs are plentiful everywhere just now for a quick fix for late winter/early spring.
Amanda looks like she likes the work from seeing the patio so clear. An hour in fresh air is invigorating and good for your health. Make the patch smaller - like 2 feet x 2 feet at a time. And do like one patch every 2/3 weeks. The rewards -- flowers, butterflies, bees, heavenly scents and colours -- always lift your mood.
Your patio looks so much better, you must be pleased Success breeds success, what are you going to do next?
From your photos the soil doesn't look too bad, not unduly compacted and fairly fertile, judging by the weed growth.
Are you going to have a lawn? It is often the easiest thing to care for, once established, especially if you embrace the idea of diversity of lawn flowers and don't insist on perfection!
If you don't want to tackle the whole area at once, you could try just mowing the 'lawn' area which will help to control the weeds somewhat and make it look better and the grass will thicken up over time. Incidentally I have just replaced my large, heavy mower with a wheeled Flymo and it is so much lighter and less tiring to use. It is even proving capable of taking on 6 weeks of summer growth with reasonable results!
If it is not too uneven you could leave improving it for a while and concentrate on getting some colour. Spring bulbs are perfect, in pots, as has already been suggested and you can plant them out later when you have more idea about layout and where you want them.
Some flowering shrubs would be a good move, they need little attention once planted, apart from an annual trim if required, and they provide some structure and can give lots of flowers. Potentilla, Weigela, Deutzia and Choisya are all trouble free and rewarding shrubs and you will find plenty more if you want them
It may be worth getting a local gardener to call and do a blitz for you and then as you have arthiritis he/she could visit say every 4 weeks until you are in control.
Where I live its about £20 for an hour.
Hopefully they will take away the green waste or you can put it in the Green Bin if you have one.
Just imagine how great it will look in a few months.
Everyone is just trying to be Happy.....So lets help Them.
Posts
If you are on a tight budget, the way forward is to put in your own time, doing a bit every week.
And instead of buying plants at something like £5 - £30 per plant, buy seeds at £1 - £3 per packet of like 300 seeds.
Use an old bin and make your own compost with household things. However, don't use weeds and grass cuttings to make compost as they add their seeds which can lay dormant for a long time and when you put that compost to new plant areas, grass and weeds invade all over from those seeds and smother your new plants.
Don't use their roots for composting either as weeds send trains of roots underground which sprout shoots everywhere, making it very hard to get rid of later.
Buy a tall fork and spade and a small fork and spade from a second hand shop.
Dig out a small area in a corner about 2 feet wide and 4 feet long. Take the top 3 inches out and put it to pasture in a corner because most of the invasive weed and grass roots and seeds are in those 3 inches. Dig out and turn the next 9 inches at least, removing all the weed roots.
Buy a John Innes No. 1/2/3 compost for £4-£5 at Wickes or B&Q.
Buy a peat based multi-purpose compost for about the same.
Buy a farmyard manure sack at about the same price.
If you can afford it, buy a Blood, Fish, and Bone fertilizer in granular format for a tenner, but the above will do if you cannot afford it.
Add the 2 composts in and mix in with the turned soil well with the fork & spade, keeping about 1/3rd of a sack of compost for later.
Sprinkle and mix in a few cups of the fertilizer to the top 2 inches if you have it.
Buy seeds of about 3 plants you like. Buy those with the RHS PLANTS FOR POLINATORS label to have butterflies and bees in your garden. Or, for lots of different flowers, buy a BUTTERFLY MIX and a BEE ATTRACTING FLOWER MIX - 2 packets of seeds. put down the seeds carefully over the area, and put in about 1/2 an inch of the remaining compost over to cover it.
Put in some crocus bulbs here and there, too, if you want. They will flower in early spring.
You can sow now for seeds to be activated over winter and to germinate and sprout beautiful flowers starting early next spring.
When the new plants are about 6 inches tall, you can mulch in the manure in between them.
Do another small area like once a fortnight or so when you have some time and a bit of cash for the compost and the seeds. Stocks & Green, for example, have a great collection of seeds. Or try your local garden centre for them.
To be fair to others, I should mention other good sites: Marshalls, Crocus, J Parker, Middleton Nurseries, Thompson & Morgan, Sarah Raven, Farmer Gracie, Plant World Seeds, Hayloft, The Ginger Jungle, You Garden, Suttons. Also buy local and support your local gardening centre or florist and you save on the packaging and shipping.
I'd agree with @JennyJ - a pressure washer is worth trying, and even just the winter weather will make a difference in getting rid of that paint. You can then have a think about doing the paint if you don't want to replace, or can't afford that.
A couple of pots for over winter will cheer things up if you fancy it - spring bulbs are plentiful everywhere just now for a quick fix for late winter/early spring.
Most importantly, take care of your hands @amandabretnall42cPYbXutD.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
The rewards -- flowers, butterflies, bees, heavenly scents and colours -- always lift your mood.
Where I live its about £20 for an hour.
Hopefully they will take away the green waste or you can put it in the Green Bin if you have one.
Just imagine how great it will look in a few months.
Many thanks
The lawn just need a cut. At least to start. The patio needs a good weedkill. The rest is just tidying to taste.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...