How do i know what type of soil i have?

Its likely that your soil is clay based. When wet, clay sticks together and when dry is as hard as a rock. It can be improved with plenty of compost, manure or any other soil lightner. Dealing with the weeds will depend on whether you want to use chemicals or not and how bad they are. Whatever u decide, probably best to have some sort of plan of what you want and tackle it bit by bit and do lots of research

TYPE OF SOIL IS IMPORTANT
BUY A SOIL TESTING KIT FROM A GARDEN CENTRE
THEY ARE NOT EXPENSIVE THIS WILL TELL YOU THE PH OF YOUR SOIL, THIS MEANS ACID YOU WILL BE ABLE TO GROW RHODODEDRONS AN HEATHERS ALKALINE WILL I GROW THINGS LIKE PINKS WALLFLOWERS ETC.
THE OTHER AND POSSIBLE EASIER WAY IS TO LOOK AND SEE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR AREA GROW WELL
HOPE THIS HELPS
BRIAN J S

Hi Danielle and welcome - given that you live in London you are almost guaranteed to have an alkaline clay soil. Frankly those little soil testing kits wont tell you much! Go along to a local garden centre or, even better, a private nursery and ask advice. If you are not happy with that look at what your neighbours are growing and ask their advice too!

If the lawn is really overgrown with weeds it may be easier to remove the turf and start again... the advantage of this is that you can put things where you want them!

Think about what you want the garden to be like and how you want to use it. Do you want somewhere to sit, grass, flower beds, veggie plot, patio, shade area, planters... you get my drift. Do you want a garden where you don't have to do a lot of work or one that will require regular attention. Once you have the answers to those questions you can then start to shape the space.

Keep asking questions - we'll all help if we can and good luck! When we moved into our present house the, very large, garden was just about all grass - we saw it as a blank canvas to play with... today the only grass growing is considered a weed!

WELCOME TO GYO

im a newbie too everyone here is so helful dont worry all questions are good questions as it shows you care

x x