In A Country Garden?

Very impressive, I hope you had a glass of something strong after that!

 

............. I pinched that picture - I don`t have that much of a lovely slope to do ..but that is what I would do if I had.
My own pathways and walls are on a rather smaller scale....but - a 'big' job is only a collection of small jobs stuck together.

I DID cut 4 acres of grass with a push mower a few times when I had no tractor....

 

to GC @William Francis - lovely to have you join us. Looks like you have quite a project on your hands; just remember: "Rome wasn't built in a day" and a garden is *never* finished

I completely understand your keenness to get going on it - especially when you are finding good value plants that are calling to you!

You could still buy them, I think they would look quite pretty on those concrete steps you have which lead you down to the garden. I'd put them into a larger pot though and keep them to hand for later in the year, or even next Spring by which time I'm sure you will have achieved a lot of the ground/preparation work.

Well, you've already mentioned you have a multitude of rocks and logs ... I'm sure those would go some way to making pathways/demarcation lines. I have a Geoff Hamilton book where he shows a "woodland" style garden with a pathway which is dug out and laid with a liner and topped with thick bark mulch and the sides denoted by long, slender, cut down trunks; very impressive! In another chapter showing what could be achieved in a typical urban garden, he showed a patio area he had created from odds and bobs of paving he collected from a reclamation/scrap yard. Naturally, it was a strange assortment of colours, sizes, pieces, but with a bit of creativity and imagination, he created a very pleasing effect.
Freecycle has already been mentioned but, also consider your local area's Facebook page. Only the other week my son told me of someone locally who had just posted that there were some terracotta garden pots free to whoever came along ... he and his Dad went along and claimed 8 weathered, but lovely shaped pots for me to play with Likewise, you could put a request for old pavers on the Facebook page and see what response you get. At this time of year I am sure there will be people who are updating their patios/paving and you may be in luck? I'll keep my for you on that front.

There is a wonderful thread on here "Can't Have a Pond so I'll have a Bucket" which you may find inspiring (grab a cuppa before you venture into that link ... you may be a little while ). That might be an idea to tide you over (and still attract wildlife) until you have thoroughly explored the pond idea (maybe a raised pond?). Also a bog garden would attract wildlife if you really don't want a bucket. Easy enough to recreate using an old sink/large container.

Maybe move that mound of stuff and consider using it to "raise" the bottom end of the garden a bit?

GC run a seed swap each year. Maybe when you have been here a bit and qualify, you could join in the swap? You'd be surprised what turns up!

You are going to have a lot of fun making that space your own - you'll also make a mistake or three along the way, but don't be daunted, they are all learning curves and we've all been there!