HelpfulGardener.com

I have recently moved into my very first House.
The Garden is a bit of a Mess and I'm looking to transform it into someone really Special.

On a personal note, I have lived with my parents all my life and so done very little in the way of DIY or Gardening and so this may prove to be a challange for myself.

Ive taken some Pics of my Garden at present and also Drawn a little Plan.

I'm looking for suggestions & creative ideas to what I could do with it. Suppose starting a Fresh is opening the Door to all sorts of Ideas, I just don't know where to start, let alone know if I could do it myself, with a little help from my Dad.

Id love to get some good ideas from all the experienced people, I admit I'm a novice and know probably nothing.
Hopefully my Plan and Pics from different angles may explain everything better than I ever could.

Heres the Plan of my Garden

[url]https://img328.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gardenplan1cu.jpg[/url]


[url=https://img309.imageshack.us/my.php?image=014ql.jpg]Pic 1[/url]

[url=https://img171.imageshack.us/my.php?image=028qq.jpg]Pic 2[/url]

[url=https://img338.imageshack.us/my.php?image=038rt.jpg]Pic 3[/url]

[url=https://img321.imageshack.us/my.php?image=045dj.jpg]Pic 4[/url]

[url=https://img338.imageshack.us/my.php?image=058sa.jpg]Pic 5[/url]


[url=https://img165.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gardenplanblank7tr.jpg]Blank Plan - if anyone is feeling creative[/url]

I am open to pretty much anything, I think the Poly Tunnel will be definitely being removed

Look forward to hearing from anyone who can offer me some advice

Thanks

Lee

I don't know how to use the drawing you provided, but I'll try to make some suggestions from the drawing I just did( this is the kind of business I want to start). It would help to know your zone, but I'll try.
Looking out your back door, you could place a small limestone or other smooth surface patio. Just big enough for a table and chairs, and maybe a barbeque. In between the stones you could plant some creeping thyme. This area would be to the left side leaving room on the other for either a small lawn which would surround the patio( or maybe a different groundcover, I'm not big on lawns).
Along the expanse of the right fence two rambling rose could be trained so that you could hide some of the neighboring view. The entire back could be a bergenia bed below a small growing magnolia(once again to help hide some view). Small stepping stones could lead from the patio to the bergenia bed to help the eye feel that the space is larger.
On the left side between the patio and magnolia you could plant 3 or 4 blueberries. As filler in the open ground small clumps of plant material could be placed for great color. Campanulas, primroses, Small daisies, dianthus, etc.
Just a fisrt idea anyway, sorry it's so long.

number one goal if this was my yard would be gaining privacy with the installation of trees and shrubs.

number two, a place to sit and enjoy.

place a hedge of holly, golden false cypress, and barberry and juniper along the fence lines. intersperse with a couple of trees such as Red Bud, Kousa Dogwood,
and then create either a grassy area for sitting or a patio

I agree with the folks that posted about privacy - a hedge with some interesting color would be my pick. I like to change things up a little, so I do things like plant Indian Hawthorne next to Burgundy Loropetalum, something like two Hawthorne to one Loropetalum so it isn't looking like a checkerboard. In the corners I'd place a tree, something graceful but lush for more privacy yet.

From there, in front of the hedge, I like a flowing border. Straight lines get BORING. Same for the walkway. Your yard will seem bigger if the path meanders a bit, so like say, it winds to the right, then to the left, and at the larger spaces created in between, you have a garden in one and a patio on the other.

I would FILL a small yard with plants. The more you look at plants all around you and can't see the whole space, the bigger it will seem, and the more private too.