Kinda newbie garden help

I think your garden looks promising. I think it would be ideal to have a plan what you want your garden to be in terms of look and functionality so that way you won't get so overwhelmed. From your plan list you can weed out what will work or not. These kind of projects takes time and a lot of effort and money so my bet is to do it through phases. Try as well to use some garden accessories to spruce up the place. You can probably add some rain chains, cupolas and of course my favorite weathervanes!

 

Every gardener started somewhere ... both in terms of how complete, or otherwise, the garden they "inherited" was, and also what knowledge and skill they had. But some gardeners have not sought help from Gardeners Corner so you are ahead of the pack

You don't need to worry about 4-hours-a-day whatever you do with the garden, unless you decide to have an obsessional hobby looking after a collection of something really tricky - perhaps leave that until your retirement?!!

What you do need to prepare yourself for is that there are times of the year when your garden will benefit from significant inputs, and you would do best to make sure you prioritise your life around those, as if you miss that "slot" in the year then for the rest of the season you will play catchup. Depending on what sort of garden you decide on that will influence "when" those time(s) need to be devoted, and how much. For a lot of people with a garden your size it may only be a weekend or two during the year, but at exactly the right time.

You do need to keep on top of weeding, watering and feeding, but once you have got the weeds under control that is easy - little and often - and only becomes a pain if you let it get out of control. Same with the lawn - mow it every week, never miss a week, and if it is growing strongly (in Spring / Early Summer) mow it twice a week, or once every 4, maybe 5, days ...

So then: you need to decide what sort of garden you want, your "your blue sky dream " as Mahdahlia said.

Cottage garden? Frilly flowers, lots of colour, no particular theme. Roses over the entrance, that type of thing.

Colour theme perhaps? Striking impact by using single colours ("red" for hot, or "white"), or a narrow pallet of colours (blue/white or white flowers/grey foliage, for example)

Then whether you like Leaf/Foliage Form too. Things with dramatic leaves - large, or of "interesting" form. The large leaf garden style maybe? tends to be a Boy Thing, and foliage is generally a more acquired taste.

You can take the foliage thing the whole hog and create an Exotic garden - which is generally more about leaf form than flower. It has the advantage of being relatively instant - the garden looks pretty well established in the first year - but a lot of the plants are tender, so need over wintering in a frost-free greenhouse or conservatory.

Other forms of garden include Topiary, or specialist gardens such as a Japanese garden, or all containers (which can be dramatic, and can be a good choice if you are not planning to be in that property for very long)

Either way you need to narrow down / decide on the "theme" that you want.

 

Matthew you've done a good job on the pond! Keep persevering and in time the rest will fall into place!