I think you would be far better off with an edge to your lawn personally. it will actually help when you mow rather than trying to miss the plants with the lawn mower.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
I agree @GardenerSuze - apart from anything else it stops it looking very untidy ,and anything you plant needs to have grass kept away from it to establish properly .
I think you need to ID the shrubs/plants you put in - the ones left by builders. If you don't know what they are, you've no idea what size they might make, or how to care for them. Some close ups will help. I can't tell from the photo, but the one on the far left is already sizeable... Wet ground, slugs - they go hand in hand I'm afraid.
I think it would have been easier to put a proper edge to the grass, and plant a hedge along the fence, and that would also solve the problem of the little corner. You could have a specimen tree in there in it's own little bed. Lots of trees would be fine. It would help the uptake of moisture and be a lot easier to maintain. At a later stage you could extend a border from the birch tree out to that, and have suitable plants added
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
As the children's playhouse suggests you have young children, why not cover the whole irregular area from the side of the play house to the side of the shed with a double layer of weed matting then top it off with a deep layer of play bark and give it over to the children as a play area until they are older. By the time they no longer use the playhouse, the bark will have broken down, you could lift the matting, dig in the bark and then start planting up. The matting can be cut to fit around the trees you want to keep.
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I think you need to ID the shrubs/plants you put in - the ones left by builders. If you don't know what they are, you've no idea what size they might make, or how to care for them. Some close ups will help. I can't tell from the photo, but the one on the far left is already sizeable...
Wet ground, slugs - they go hand in hand I'm afraid.
I think it would have been easier to put a proper edge to the grass, and plant a hedge along the fence, and that would also solve the problem of the little corner. You could have a specimen tree in there in it's own little bed. Lots of trees would be fine.
It would help the uptake of moisture and be a lot easier to maintain. At a later stage you could extend a border from the birch tree out to that, and have suitable plants added
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
How deep should I be "fixing" the soil? 25cm/10inches?
Wonder what tree I should put in the small triangle between the shed and fence that sits on a retaining wall. Any tips?