HiI am very new to gardening and would just like some advice

First hello and welcome to GOY Lollywolls .

Most of all enjoy your garden and planning your garden .

Never to do much that it feels a chore.

Rhodenruns are very nice clematis ,a rose bed.

Daphne a must for the perfume:)

Enkianthus for their pretty blooms but for stunning red foliage.

If you dont want shrubs may a perennial herbaceous border.

Most of all enyoy your garden and take before and after photos.

Ooooooo thanks so much for the info, are these all things I can go out and buy this weekend and plant straight away? And would these also come back again next year? As you may be able to tell I am absolutely clueless and new to all of this!!!!

If you want some quick colour while you plan for next year, why not some pansies, there are plenty about now.
Your bulbs will come up through them.

Thanks for you replies I think pansies are a good place to start

Lolly pansies or violas will give you so much colour now .

Its also nice to go around garden centres at different seasons to see what is in bloom etc.

So you could have a garden of all seasons a 4 season garden .

One thing that I picked up on Lollywolls was that you said "It's now just one long length of mud". This indicates to me that your soil is waterlogged, or am I misunderstanding you? If it is a sea of mud and waterlogged, then I suggest that you sort out the poor drainage first before you plant anything.

Lol thanks Myron I think that's just my inexperienced way of saying that all I can now see is a long length of dirt and I'm not sure what to do with it to make it look pretty ;)

If both borders are 25 feet long, just putting in bulbs and some flowers isn't going to work - you need mixed planting - a skeleton of shrubs with some perennials as well. Also, take this time to think about whether you actually want just two long, straight borders either side of the garden. Maybe you want curved beds instead to make it more interesting, beds separated by grass instead of in a long line. Or make some parts wider in a curve - planting is definitely more interesting if its got depth, that is, taller things at the back, medium in the middle and short stuff at the front.

Welcome to the mysteries of gardening.I have been enjoying gardening for more than thirty years and still have disasters. Main thing is that you enjoy it!
Good advice to visit a garden centre and see what you like that is in flower now.choose a couple of shrubs .maybe an a cuba for all year round greenery ,roses for summer colour and an hydrangea.all fairly sturdy and pest free.
you could then choose herbaceous perennials to fill up gaps.masses to choose from.perhaps look at grannies bonnets for spring time. Once in they self seed free plants everywhere.penstemon,michealmas daisies and cranesbill geraniums are really pretty and easy to grow.
Hope this helps you.
Lastly if you want a cheap pretty spring time display to go with your bulbs ,buy a packet or two of forget me not seeds and sprinkle onto the soil. BE warned ,if they like your garden they will spread. Enjoy.

Thank you all for the advice it gives me a lot to consider and think about, off I go to a garden centre in the morning I think!

If you can ,buy a copy of d g Hessayon guide to perennial herbaceous plants .look in charity shops too.
I have been referring to these guides for.many years and he has written guides to cover all types of plants.
Hope this is helpful when you are looking at what to buy for your garden but advice from other gardeners is invaluable too.

What shrubs are getting rid of? I can understand the conifer (depending on the variety), but the shrubs give you a structure - they benefit from a good pruning but unless they are something completely unsightly or thuggish it may be worth re considering their removal.

If you really don't want the shrubs then a selection of plants with different heights and textures is the starting point. In 25' you'll probably need two or three 'statement' plants.

Could you put photos of the shrubs on your question - we could hopefully tell you what they are and what they are likely to do - it may save you discarding something that would be pretty at a different time of year, and save you some money too. As Bamboo says, you would get a more attractive border with some shrubs , especially as you want minimum maintenance. . Hasten slowly, look critically at other gardens and notice what makes them attractive (or not). You will see that varied heights and leaf shapes are much nicer than rows of all one thing. Did you mark where you planted the daffodils - you won't want to be digging them up by accident when you do your new planting.

Good advice when moving to a new (old) garden is be patient, and try to avoid just coming back from the garden centre with a trolley full of things in flower just now - you need to be planning for next year. (Miserable advice, but useful!)