My garden needs a makeover

Jemma01

Hello 😇

My garden needs help, and I've never owned one or done any gardening before.

As my gardening vocabulary is non-existent, I shall use photographs to communicate the issues at hand. 

This is what I want to do (and just so you know, I'm not someone who wants quick and dirty, I want to do things right)

1. I'm buying a lawnmower so the grass should be sorted, with a bit of reading about first time cutting the grass it sounds like I need to do it more than ones, potentially a week apart.
2. the edge of the grass on the right is looking a bit dry, grey and lifeless, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do here? Replace it with a new fresh soil?

3. The edge of the grass on the left is almost covered with grass. My plan is to shovel it out to the recycling and also replace it with fresh soil. Is there anything else I need to do here to prevent grass from growing there again without damaging the adjacent grass (or slow down the process)?

4. My shed, deck and the fence need painting, so I'm shopping for a good paint (i.e. full coverage with no more than 2 coats, the faster it dries the better). Reading about both Cuprinol and Ronseal, it doesn't sound like I need to prime the wood from these two? Thoughts?

The wood looks in a dreadful state esp around the end of the garden, it's almost gone green (or maybe not, what do I know!?), I feel like I need to do something before painting it?

5. The walls near my porch & patio look absolutely grim, what can I do to restore it? I'm conscious about pressure washing it in case it damages the bricks (but then I worry about everything, what do I know!?). That wall is my responsibility.

6. likewise with the bricks alongside the path to the shed, it's growing algae 🙄. Is pressure washing them a problem with light pressure?

Is there anything else I need to be doing? Other general maintenance for the shed, or the deck?

Tools I have so far or to come
- Shovel & a garden fork
- lawnmower (to come)
- pressure washer
- hedge shears 
- relatively small metal brush

Thanks for your help

1st update:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81379006/#Comment_81379006

mini update:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81385008/#Comment_81385008

2nd update:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81387240/#Comment_81387240

3rd update (in progress)
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81398154/#Comment_81398154

A bit of 3rd + 4th update
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81399541/#Comment_81399541

5th update (driveway)
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81409891/#Comment_81409891

6th update (back garden fence)
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81434036/#Comment_81434036

7th update (driveway fence + front garden fence)

FreeBear

The wall, I'd give a once over with a wire hand brush just to remove any loose paint & crud. Then give it a couple of coats of limewash. Don't use a modern masonry paint on it - Moisture will get trapped in the bricks if you do, and after a few winters, the bricks will start to spall.

Flugelhorn

"

1. the edge of the grass on the right is looking a bit dry, grey and lifeless, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do here? Replace it with a new fresh soil?"

It doesn't look too bad - if you want a border with some plantsthere then you might need to make it a bit wider, try digging it over and perhaps adding some compost - don't need to replace it

Spikeygran

The first thing is dont panic, tackle an area and get it right, then move on to the next. Dont rush I'm a great believer in gardening by accident.  People throw out perfectly good ornaments and plants at times, you dont have to spend a fortune. I'd probably do the decking area first as you will want to sit out in summer.

It looks like theres been gravel next to the fence, its to stop wet mud touching and rotting the fence panels.  The other side looks like its been gravelled too?  If you are going to turn it into a flowerbed, sort out the wall first and only dig when you are ready to put something in or it will fill with weeds.   If you are working long hours, flower beds are more labour intensive, shrubs will mind themselves.

Moving forward you'll need:

A rake for autumn leaves.

A trowel for weeding and planting.

A broom

Something to sit on.

You might eventually want a composter to deal with grass cuttings weeds etc.

Supermarket and pound shops often have cheap tools, charity /junk shops / boot fairs are worth a look and have a look at  freecycle.

Albermarle

Don’t worry about trying to get the garden/lawn perfect.
It can be stressful getting it all looking 100% , especially a lawn, and it deters the local nature.

Beeblebr0x

Re- the fence panels.

A solution of one part white vinegar to three or four parts water applied to the green algae should kill it after a few days. When applying, scrub the algae with a stiff brush, leave for 30 minutes, then get a watering can or hose and rinse off the muck. I get my vinegar from a pound store. I'd be inclined to wire brush the algae first to remove the powdery growth and you might want to wear a face mask to save breathing it in. Make sure the fence is completely dry before painting. Any green stain that hasn't disappeared can be simply painted over as the fence paint will be formulated to kill algae.

Cuprinol and Ronseal are both very good products. Some wood paints I've used in the past require the second coat to be applied no more than eight hours after the first, so check the tin before buying and plan your day accordingly. I bought an angled paint brush and it made the job so much easier.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/harris-trade-angled-timbercare-block-paint-brush-4-3-4-/487fy

Beeblebr0x

Spikeygran said:

Supermarket and pound shops often have cheap tools, charity /junk shops / boot fairs are worth a look and have a look at  freecycle.

Freecycle is now known as Freegle in the UK

Green_hopeful

Beeblebr0x said:

Spikeygran said:

Supermarket and pound shops often have cheap tools, charity /junk shops / boot fairs are worth a look and have a look at  freecycle.

Freecycle is now known as Freegle in the UK

Freecycle still exists. We have one in Peterborough 

Beeblebr0x

Green_hopeful said:

Beeblebr0x said:

Spikeygran said:

Supermarket and pound shops often have cheap tools, charity /junk shops / boot fairs are worth a look and have a look at  freecycle.

Freecycle is now known as Freegle in the UK

Freecycle still exists. We have one in Peterborough 

Hmm, the website shows locations in the States. 🤔 The split with Freecycle was in 2009:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freegle

Spikeygran

I subscibe to both freecycle and freegle they are separate organisations.   I have 4 active towns on my freecycle dashboard.

https://uk.freecycle.org

Spikeygran

Another group formed called Freeble I think, who had parted from Freecycle but didn't want to align with Freegle.  I had at least 2 towns initially that were part of that group but I think they went back when google groups stopped?  Memory isn't so good these days perhaps someone else will remember??

Edit:  I just searched mail account and found it was yahoo groups (not google groups), so it looks like Freeble was part of yahoo groups and ended when they did.  Ayr had one of the freeble recycling groups I remember,  together with a chat group freebleayrcafe.