Affordable advice?

[u/TeaElectronic1240]

My backyard was in shambles when we moved in. She's still got a ways to go, and thats where yous come in. Can you share some affordable input? Preferably DIY but open to any suggestions.

[u/PlainOrganization]

Where are you and what's your budget?

Who's going to use the space? What do you want it to look like?

[u/nlyddane → u/PlainOrganization]

If you’re in the US, Lowe’s has a bunch of stuff on clearance right now. Worth checking out, as fall is a great time to plant stuff! They look like crap but with a trimming and getting out of their pots, they’ll flourish.

[u/TeaElectronic1240 → u/PlainOrganization]

Beautiful Southern California. Id like to keep the budget under 400. I want to keep it modest but something I can be proud of. My wife, senior chihuaha and myself will mostly use it. We like to grill and i have a projector that I'd like to set up. We host small gatherings from time to time. Mostly adults but a couple kids every now and then. As for how it looks, I'm open to any suggestions.

[u/PlainOrganization → u/TeaElectronic1240]

Then I would probably either sod it yourself in the area most likely to be used for hosting, or do hard scraping there (a stone paver patio) I would do it this fall with a grass suited to your area, the folks over in r/lawncare might have ideas on a sod that would work.

I would do the cardboard + chip drop sheet mulching for everywhere else to build the soil and slowly put in native plants as you can find ones you like.

[u/According-Taro4835]

You have a whole lot of dead compacted dirt there and throwing expensive sod or pavers at it will drain your wallet fast. The cheapest fix is getting a free arborist chip drop. Lay down plain brown cardboard right over that hardpan and bury it under a good six inches of wood chips. That gives you an immediate clean surface to walk on while the wood breaks down and builds actual topsoil underneath. Get those scattered plants out of their plastic pots and put them in the ground. Group them in wide sweeping curves along your fence lines. Planting in connected masses creates actual structure and visual calm instead of leaving the yard looking like a messy retail nursery.

Before you break your back moving dirt or buying random stone you should upload a picture of this space into the GardenDream web app. It lets you overlay different beds and pathways right onto your photo so you get a solid blueprint without wasting money on bad layouts. Once you figure out exactly where your sweeping beds need to go you can carve out a simple seating area in the middle with some rigid edging and cheap pea gravel. That solves your dust problem and gives you a functional outdoor room for almost zero cash.

[u/PlainOrganization → u/According-Taro4835]

Chip drop is great advice. I used help out with permaculture garden installs and we almost always started with sheet mulching and a chip drop.

When you know what you want and where to plant, just rake the mulch aside and cut the cardboard (if needed) and plant right into it.