well i think you have a good start there ... bit of structure. wait till spring and see wot pops up 1st , you may get a nice surprise . in the mean time cke out pics on here 4 ideas , that how i came to b a member ..........
there are loads of ideas

welcome to GoY.
The change of level is good. I'd put an arch across the path at your step and grow clematis/roses. buts thats just me.

You need to find out which parts get sun and for how long, which are the shadier spots and again for how long. This is important if you are to grow happy plants.

how long have you been in? Did you put the gravel down? Do you have children/pets/walking difficulties etc. All these things need to be taken into consideration.

Then what would you like? pond, water featureseating [noticed the area at the top]. Do you have any favourite plants that you want to include?

As cristina says browse the site you will get lots of ideas.

Start with what YOU want in the garden. If you're not sure, find garden magazines with ideas, or a design book. You don't need to go show garden level for your garden to be a winner. Then, having decided on a few ideas, go for priority levels. Stage by stage, although sometimes, because one stage might impact on another, two stages might need tackling at the same time. Make lists of plants and features you like. Do you want hedges, a tree? At all stages ask people on this site for help re choice of plants, their ideas on strctures in the garden, etc. It'll make the task a pleasure, and more easily tackled. Worthy

Oops, same time as SBG. Oh well, we must be talking sense then! Worthy

or both non-sense :o))

I agree that you've got a good basis to work from there Mags. It boils down to what you like and what you want. Browse this website, books from the library, visit parks and gardens open to the public, for ideas - not to copy slavishly, but just to get an idea of what you like. Then make a list of those things and sit in the garden in all different places and just think, take it in, meditate. Ideas will gel and you'll be able to form a plan.

I'd love to be starting with your garden Mags which is basically a blank canvas.

One of the keys is to have a wide range of flowers with a very long flowering season.

I wrote this blog a few weeks ago and added to it suggestions from many of the excellent folk on GoY.

You might find it useful and virtually all the plants listed have enormous flowering periods ( some as long as 5 months) and are really easy to care for

Here's the link

http://www.growsonyou.com/anchorman/blog/12681-plants-with-a-very-long-flowering-season

I've done quite a bit of garden design and I've written about some of these gardens in my other blogs on GoY. You might like to check them out

P.S. what everyone else has said! :^)

Thanks for that Anchorman - they're the Really Useful plants to have. :-)

looks like a similar shape to mine
i agree with everything above ~ especially where beattie says sit in it and look round ~ dream a bit!!
do you fancy some climbing plants over the fence? do you like scented plants?
is it very sunny? cos that makes a big difference as to which plants will be happy there.
welcome to GoY

Added to GoYpedia Design Ideas :o)

One thing i'd certainly do if it were my garden is eliminate all or most of the straight lines in the borders. By adding curves you make the grass far easier to mow and you can deepen the borders to make them more interesting to look at and plant. One possibility would be to turn both lawns into oval shapes. You could then plant all around with a range of perennials chosen to give you colour,interest and flower all year around. Low lying evergreen perennials allowed to encroach a little on the paths/patio will soften the look of the garden and could give the garden a cottage garden look.

I like to break up straight lines by the use of planting and I'd plant a range of evergreen shrubs intersperded with climbers to cover most of the fence .

ps dont 4 get if you not bin there long there may be plants there allready . dont just dive in and dig it up ............. wait and see , as it looks like someone has made a start . there cud be lots of bulbs . wen u know wots there , you can move them a round to suit urself . buy the way wellcome from to ;o))))

Also look for a little variety, Mags--but not complete chaos! Work out a basic structure, then add a few things with different textures: big leaves, sword-shaped leaves, feathery foliage, etc. Color is good, too, and not just flowers. Trees, shrubs, and perennials come with foliage in gray, purple, red, yellow, and white, too.

Many Thanks for everyone's comments. Still not sure what to do but will be making a start using your suggestions soon. Thanks again

one thing i sometimes do is to copy the photo into a word document and then draw some ideas onto the photo ~ that way its easier to picture things.
if you can get to one of the garden centres that has a few little gardens laid out you would see a few more ideas.