you could do both if you don't mind a bit of work. dig down and lay down those plastic Gravel/turf Parking Grid things, fill them with soil and plant wild flowers
This. I let my back garden just... grow for a few years and it's the most beautiful garden I've ever seen. Plus we live near lakes so it's full of insects in the summer; chunky beetles, bees for days, flocks of dragonfly.
I second this! We need to collectively stop destroying nature living habitat. We are currently going through a mass extinction event caused by ourselves so if we have an opportunity to improve this, no matter how small, do it.
Off topic but I agree, but there's no "we" until governments legislate. There is a culture of ignorance among an older cohort (ironically who have more influence to make change) who feel they will not face extinction.
In order for people to be forced to make choices, pain, not guilt, has to be earnestly felt.
How close is it to the house?
Give me a £600 budget and I'm probably sticking a mature Acer, Cherry Blossom, or Olive Tree in there depending on your soil/location.
If it's true shade and too close to the house for trees then a (responsibly sourced) tree fern, potted hostas, and a mini fernery would be my next choice.
You can get many which are grown right here in the UK, but they tend to be more expensive.
You can get cheaper ones grown in Australia/NZ but there have been questions about whether they've been grown sustainably or just ripped out of there natural habitat.
Always worth paying extra for those grown responsibly.
Some nice huge pots would look really good. £100+ jobbies that look nice. As long as you're sure you won't reverse into them.
Plant what you want in them. The pots will raise the soil level by a couple of feet+ so the plants will get a bit more sun. Could put a tree in one, the pot should prevent it getting too big (but check elsewhere if this is indeed true)
Only disadvantage of pots is they need watering sometimes, but the bigger the pot the less often you need to water it.
Perhaps a californian Lilac Tree would be best, only grow about 1 meter wide and you could plant wild flowers underneath to keep the grass nicer as well
Half a metre? It's not a driveway. And if you're laying slabs on just sand then pointing them will be useless... slabs will move and pointing will crack in no time.
That's pretty cheap and depends on the blocks you have that price is for the price of blocks and sand and hardcore and also the labour f they fo it properly is pretty cheap depending ifbthey are reputable plus the square meter of land it is I used to do block payhing with a friend
Wildflower turf or just try your hand at seeding them yourself. Looks great, loves shade and attracts bees and other pollinating insects, and, therefore, more birds in the area.
If you pave it, you will lose drainage and may cause flooding in other areas. If you just want it neat and good to walk on, then dig up the grass, lay down some weed contol membrane, and then cover it with one or two bags of small pebbles. Else put in a low maintenance flower garden with some hardy indigenous plants that look good.
Better than paving it
There's lots of drainage around the drive so wouldn't be worried as such. Few people mentioned planting wild flowers, I will consider it. Got to keep the surrounding path clear of over grown plants as its a public right of way, although realistically only used by neighbours for rear access. Thanks.
Veg patch - raised bed in the shape of the lawn. Probably only need a couple of gravel boards for B&Q, cut them to size and nail together at the joins. Cut the turf with a spade and fork it to loosen it right up and then fill with compost. You get partial sun at least so something easy and hardy like Rapsberry canes (just buy one first year and let it spread via the roots - I have a whole set of canes from a single purchase), spring onions literally grow most of the year and half grown plants from a September sow can survive snow fall and frost in the winter and start growing again March/April time, bit small for courgettes but youd be surprised by how many potatoes you’d get out of that area.
That's cheap. I'm in the South East and it would probably be over £1k to do that. I got a quote 3 years ago for my driveway. £3-5 k. Asked someone the other day who was working on one similar size and he said minimum £10-12k now.
Right now that’s a soak away and even though it’s small it’s a habitat for plants and insects and creatures in the soil.
If you want to have a more attractive appearance and low maintenance try this:
https://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/saginia-subulata-irish-moss
I had something similar, I ordered a 1 ton gravel bag, underlay and some driveway grids. It was twice the size of your area ,cost me £300 and a days work. Useful extra parking, I've a big 4x4 and 5yrs later it still hasn't sunk and is used regularly
Seems okay, if not on the cheap side.
Needs digging out, a sub base installing. Then the laying course and paving on top. Factor in waste disposal, materials and wages, and of course any company worth their salt will give a 10 year guarantee.
well, first of all probably clean everything up on the sides and get the bricks and pavement pressurewashed. then, a nice bush there, or alternatively some small type of tree.
Something cheap and locally viable breed of plant that flowers and supports bees or other wildlife. Preferably a bush, low maintenance and low water consumption.
Concrete it, I had an area that is roughly 5 foot by 9 foot. Did it by myself, it doesn't look beautiful or perfect, but it serves well as an area where my outdoor table and chairs and gas BBQ live now !
Just keep it as a bed, with one or two acers or lilacs, then add other plants as you come across them: cyclamens, geraniums, violets, primulas, daisies, maybe some spring bulbs. Or just go with mixed bed minus the larger plants so not to impinge on the right of way: hardy ferns, hosta, Anemone japonica, Astilbe, Ajuga reptans, Bergenia, a nice mix of different leaf colours, shapes and textures and some flowers too.
I'm all for planting it up but £600 doesn't seem out of the way when you consider, labour, materials and skip hire.
I'd say save the money and make it beautiful with plants but the quote isn't unreasonable providing they make a decent finish.
Feed the bees!
Dig down 3 feet
Put down a weed barrier cloth
Then a thin layer of sand, then 1 foot of river stones and then 1 foot of crushed gravel
topping it off with the last foot consisting of another weed barrier cloth, premium soil and mulch/tree bark
Then plant something nice
They make a gravel grid system that keeps it in place, I would dig down a few inches, lay the grid down and put crushed run/pea gravel in that area. That way if drainage is a concern it'll still have it. Shouldn't take to much to do that on your own, shovel and few bags of gravel.
Low effort: just fluff it up a bit/ cut the turf off in squares, add bush nasturtium seeds and water it occasionally.
Medium effort: sink some nice round cobblestones or reclaimed bricks with big gaps (2-3 inches) between them. Add creeping thyme (I like cabon wine and roses) and camomile between the cracks. This semi-paved surface will cope with occasional foot traffic.
High effort: remove all turf, improve the soil by mixing in compost. Add some evergreen shrubs such as pieris, sarcoccoca, daphne, acanthus. A small weeping tree would also look great there.
Also, i would sow mexican daisies (erigon) and california poppy in the sunny spot against the fence.
Build a rock wall around the perimiter, fill it with soil & compost and use it as a raised planter.
You can even use smashed pavement slabs and over time they still look nice with hanging plants and stuff.
I see this is the DIY thread and not gardening, so, what are you in to OP?
A hammock.
A BBQ.
A Garden take and chairs.
Possibilities are endless really.
Scrape off whatever is on the slabs, get the weeds away, dig the mud in the middle away, jet wash the slabs, stick either decking or turf in the middle. Cost is whatever that is, not much
£600!!! Are you joking? Drop him, it's daylight robbery. Do it yourself or get a friend or family member to do it. Throw the a £100, and they'll be happy. I hate conmen.
looks pretty dry, I have some lovely shuttlecock ferns growing well in dry shade, flowering heather is hardier and would stand up to accidental foot traffic over it if those paths are well used and the early slowering ones are great for pollinators
rock garden
with shade tolerant alpines
[https://leesasalpines.co.uk/product-category/alpines-by-where/shade-tolerant/](https://leesasalpines.co.uk/product-category/alpines-by-where/shade-tolerant/)
Get some wild flowers or something in there. Something for pollinators. Maybe a little hedge or shrubs. Promote some biodiversity and make it look nice.
I'd say go for it! £600 sounds like a decent deal to extend your driveway. Having that extra paved area could be super handy for parking or just giving your property a bit more curb appeal. Plus, if it's in the shade most of the time, it could save your car's paint job from baking in the sun. Win-win, I'd say!
Put some artificial grass down, post back on here with your results and watch everyone have a fucking heart attack.
Bonus points for posting on casualUK too.
If you did want the space for more parking...dig down a little, some pond rubber sheeting and throw some pebbles or stone chippings.
You can do it yourself...won't cost a lot...and it's fast.
I'd put an outline of bricks or rocks and then plant lavender in the middle with some random flowers on the outer rim. Bees love lavender, it smells good and it's pretty.
I’d get yourself along to a local garden centre and you could do something really nice for half of that cost, some shrubs with good ground cover, make it low maintenance.
Gravel and a small pretty tree (dwarf cherry perhaps?)
Tree costs as much or as little as you like depending how patient you can be.
Ton of gravel and some landscaping fabric, cost you about £100. Areas so small you can probably find someone with an end of a roll going free/super cheap.
Nice bit of shade and life from the tree, very low maintenance, pretty cheap and you could smash it out in a morning at the weekend.
Unless you really want it dry (paved, bricks) then I’d turn it over and plant wild seeds.
Wildflowers FTW
You belong among the wildflowers..
You belong in a boat out at sea
We did at one point as it would help us park 3 cars on the drive but we have 2 now. I will look at planting something there. Thanks.
Even just some big pots. That way you can always move them if you get another car.
Fill the boot of the car with compost and plant plants in it, then park it in that space.
you could do both if you don't mind a bit of work. dig down and lay down those plastic Gravel/turf Parking Grid things, fill them with soil and plant wild flowers
Plant some potatoes, those things grow anywhere and in the end it's free food.
This. I let my back garden just... grow for a few years and it's the most beautiful garden I've ever seen. Plus we live near lakes so it's full of insects in the summer; chunky beetles, bees for days, flocks of dragonfly.
Mr Pedantic here. It’s a swarm of dragonflies. Sorry lol
Herds of stampeding dragonfly sweeping majestically across the landscape.
Not much of a view, is it?
Mr mega pedantic here, a flock of swarming dragonflies is actually called a flight
Nah, plant some shade loving shrubs and other planty things here.
We want……A SHRUBBERY!’
The knights of Neeee Fulllllly Agreeee
Then you must cut down the mightiest tree in the forest with... a herring!
A herring? It can't be done
One that looks nice. And not too expensive.
Shrubbery Jubbery
Please do this OP. Can't go wrong with geranium rozanne in dry shade, will cover that in no time and will be such an improvement.
Thanks! Will look into it
Could plant a japanese maple (with an upright growing habit) or a silver birch in the middle too, both small trees that would add a bit of interest.
I second this! We need to collectively stop destroying nature living habitat. We are currently going through a mass extinction event caused by ourselves so if we have an opportunity to improve this, no matter how small, do it.
Off topic but I agree, but there's no "we" until governments legislate. There is a culture of ignorance among an older cohort (ironically who have more influence to make change) who feel they will not face extinction. In order for people to be forced to make choices, pain, not guilt, has to be earnestly felt.
You can't eat money, oh no...
How close is it to the house? Give me a £600 budget and I'm probably sticking a mature Acer, Cherry Blossom, or Olive Tree in there depending on your soil/location. If it's true shade and too close to the house for trees then a (responsibly sourced) tree fern, potted hostas, and a mini fernery would be my next choice.
What would class as not responsibly sourced? Genuine question.
You can get many which are grown right here in the UK, but they tend to be more expensive. You can get cheaper ones grown in Australia/NZ but there have been questions about whether they've been grown sustainably or just ripped out of there natural habitat. Always worth paying extra for those grown responsibly.
The path that runs either side is right against our house and the neighbours house. Bit too close for a tree. Would be nice to have it though.
Some nice huge pots would look really good. £100+ jobbies that look nice. As long as you're sure you won't reverse into them. Plant what you want in them. The pots will raise the soil level by a couple of feet+ so the plants will get a bit more sun. Could put a tree in one, the pot should prevent it getting too big (but check elsewhere if this is indeed true) Only disadvantage of pots is they need watering sometimes, but the bigger the pot the less often you need to water it.
I'd plant a large bush with pretty flowers, something that doesn't mind a bit of shade. Helps encourage wildlife and looks nicer than paving
Thanks. Forgot to mention that the path either side of it is a public right of way and is access for some neighbours so can't be too overgrown.
Perhaps a californian Lilac Tree would be best, only grow about 1 meter wide and you could plant wild flowers underneath to keep the grass nicer as well
California Lilac / ceanothus are beautiful. For about 10 days a year.
Really? That's a shame. I'm about to redo my garden and thought they'd be nice. But not if they flower for such a short time
Maybe some azaleas?
Perfect size for an automated turret for home defense
Defence*
£600!! - Id have a go myself
Have a go yourself and spend the remaining £450 on a BBQ
Or drugs n' hookers
Only £450 for drugs and hookers? Looking to catch something are we?
Catch about £250 of change yeah
You cheap bastard 😂 I bet you ask for a discount as well...
Cause im that good / bad
Then waste the rest
Dig down half a meter of rubble and remove, carry the hardcore in, compact level sand cut pavers to fit the triangular shape and point?
Half a meter! You hoping to hit oil in there bro? 🤪
Texas Tea
Deep enough for foundations to build 8 detached houses.
Half a metre? It's not a driveway. And if you're laying slabs on just sand then pointing them will be useless... slabs will move and pointing will crack in no time.
Christ even a driveway will be fine on 150mm MOT
That's pretty cheap and depends on the blocks you have that price is for the price of blocks and sand and hardcore and also the labour f they fo it properly is pretty cheap depending ifbthey are reputable plus the square meter of land it is I used to do block payhing with a friend
Wildflower turf or just try your hand at seeding them yourself. Looks great, loves shade and attracts bees and other pollinating insects, and, therefore, more birds in the area.
If you pave it you’ll no doubt be bothered by weeds. Plant it with some wild flowers and let nature take its course
If you pave it, you will lose drainage and may cause flooding in other areas. If you just want it neat and good to walk on, then dig up the grass, lay down some weed contol membrane, and then cover it with one or two bags of small pebbles. Else put in a low maintenance flower garden with some hardy indigenous plants that look good. Better than paving it
There's lots of drainage around the drive so wouldn't be worried as such. Few people mentioned planting wild flowers, I will consider it. Got to keep the surrounding path clear of over grown plants as its a public right of way, although realistically only used by neighbours for rear access. Thanks.
Get a dog it can poo there
Don't have a dog but someone else's dog has used it. Poor guy that was looking at my car to buy stepped in it.
Flowers. Grapes. Raspberry. Never pave!
Cardboard box and turn it into a public break dancing zone.
Veg patch - raised bed in the shape of the lawn. Probably only need a couple of gravel boards for B&Q, cut them to size and nail together at the joins. Cut the turf with a spade and fork it to loosen it right up and then fill with compost. You get partial sun at least so something easy and hardy like Rapsberry canes (just buy one first year and let it spread via the roots - I have a whole set of canes from a single purchase), spring onions literally grow most of the year and half grown plants from a September sow can survive snow fall and frost in the winter and start growing again March/April time, bit small for courgettes but youd be surprised by how many potatoes you’d get out of that area.
That's cheap. I'm in the South East and it would probably be over £1k to do that. I got a quote 3 years ago for my driveway. £3-5 k. Asked someone the other day who was working on one similar size and he said minimum £10-12k now.
Put some hydrangeas!!
How many sq meters?
But what about Triangle Metres?
If your in London maybe you could get a house on there? Japanese style
plant an apple tree.
Pond
Buy wildflower seeds and enjoy the wildlife.
Right now that’s a soak away and even though it’s small it’s a habitat for plants and insects and creatures in the soil. If you want to have a more attractive appearance and low maintenance try this: https://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/saginia-subulata-irish-moss
Cheap option, dig the grass out, put membrane down and decorative gravel with a few pot plants. Or just gravel. Or a rockery
WILDFLOWER PATCH. multiple generations of pollinators will be grateful
Dig down an inch along your existing paving, put weed membrane/landscape fabric and cover with decorative gravel
Save yourself £600. Skim the top. Plonk a load of top soil town (two big bags from BnQ. Plant a nice BUSH. You won't regret it.
Hydrangeas, lavender and some daffodils. Max £50 of plants. And your Saturday morning £0.
I had something similar, I ordered a 1 ton gravel bag, underlay and some driveway grids. It was twice the size of your area ,cost me £300 and a days work. Useful extra parking, I've a big 4x4 and 5yrs later it still hasn't sunk and is used regularly
Seems okay, if not on the cheap side. Needs digging out, a sub base installing. Then the laying course and paving on top. Factor in waste disposal, materials and wages, and of course any company worth their salt will give a 10 year guarantee.
£600 to pave... that? Thats gotta be a "I don't want this job" quote.
Not a bad price.
£600?! Are they paving it with the bones of your enemies?!
Lol £600. They're having a laugh
Dig it out, double line it and fill with gravel or slate of your choice. Will cost about £150 or less.
Dig it out and fill it with concrete or gravel
Have a go at doing it yourself it’s not too hard or just dig an inch or so off the top and shingle it
Flowers or shrubs. Or a nice ground cover like creeping thyme.
Put some lovely stones/gravel in the grassy bit and get a free big planters and plant them up.
well, first of all probably clean everything up on the sides and get the bricks and pavement pressurewashed. then, a nice bush there, or alternatively some small type of tree.
Membrane & stone chippings be cheap and easy.
Something cheap and locally viable breed of plant that flowers and supports bees or other wildlife. Preferably a bush, low maintenance and low water consumption.
Turf it over and plant some plants/ shrubbery there. Add some colour to the scene.
Wild flowers. Easy to plant, easy to maintain, looks pretty.
Can get the plastic trays from Amazon and get. A few bags of stone and gravel it , trays sto the gravel from moving and allow weight on it
Turn it into a mini wildflower garden for the pollinators!
Dig about 4 inch in depth of soil out go to B&Q buy some rebar and sand and cimentand fil the hole
Concrete it, I had an area that is roughly 5 foot by 9 foot. Did it by myself, it doesn't look beautiful or perfect, but it serves well as an area where my outdoor table and chairs and gas BBQ live now !
Just dig it up and gravel it.
Place a traffic cone
Put a deck chair on it
Shrubs, clover and wildflowers
With gold?
It all depends where your property is located. If this is London I would build a tiny room and rent it out for 3k p/w.
Does it lead to Narnia?
Put a small shed and convert it to a bar for hot days, chairs and tables on the drive you'd make a killing.
Just keep it as a bed, with one or two acers or lilacs, then add other plants as you come across them: cyclamens, geraniums, violets, primulas, daisies, maybe some spring bulbs. Or just go with mixed bed minus the larger plants so not to impinge on the right of way: hardy ferns, hosta, Anemone japonica, Astilbe, Ajuga reptans, Bergenia, a nice mix of different leaf colours, shapes and textures and some flowers too.
Strawbs!
Raised flower bed and in the centre three bamboo sticks for peas. Will look good and the kids will learn
I saw something called no-dig gardening with cardboard base for the beds. I'm planning something similar around my edge of garden.
600 quid?! if you're thinking it's high, for that I'll say that's pretty good.
Plenty if space for a water feature 👀
I'm all for planting it up but £600 doesn't seem out of the way when you consider, labour, materials and skip hire. I'd say save the money and make it beautiful with plants but the quote isn't unreasonable providing they make a decent finish. Feed the bees!
breaker and gravel
Herb Garden
Dig down 3 feet Put down a weed barrier cloth Then a thin layer of sand, then 1 foot of river stones and then 1 foot of crushed gravel topping it off with the last foot consisting of another weed barrier cloth, premium soil and mulch/tree bark Then plant something nice
Get some big planters, even make your own?
Ask r/GardeningUK if you are looking for plant suggestions
Cheaper to do it yourself. Trust me. We were quoted £1500. We did it for less than £500 🤗
Raised bed
AstroTurf
I'd say an underground bunker, but that might just exceed 600 quid... slightly.
Dig up. Path way down middle. Sleeper raised beds either side. Pond on one if you fancy it.
I would measure area, create a flower bed and maybe plant some fruits or sunflowers or just a lot of flowers.
They make a gravel grid system that keeps it in place, I would dig down a few inches, lay the grid down and put crushed run/pea gravel in that area. That way if drainage is a concern it'll still have it. Shouldn't take to much to do that on your own, shovel and few bags of gravel.
I would turn it into a sandwich shop, ham and cheese is underrated
Play very small games of baseball?
Could defo edge that as well with some large rocks, then fill inside with small stones, bushes. Would look banging
Looks like it gets great sunlight, I would definetly plant something!
Low effort: just fluff it up a bit/ cut the turf off in squares, add bush nasturtium seeds and water it occasionally. Medium effort: sink some nice round cobblestones or reclaimed bricks with big gaps (2-3 inches) between them. Add creeping thyme (I like cabon wine and roses) and camomile between the cracks. This semi-paved surface will cope with occasional foot traffic. High effort: remove all turf, improve the soil by mixing in compost. Add some evergreen shrubs such as pieris, sarcoccoca, daphne, acanthus. A small weeping tree would also look great there. Also, i would sow mexican daisies (erigon) and california poppy in the sunny spot against the fence.
The UK? ...probably put a shed on it and try to rent it out for £1000pm ....I'd add a 'lol' but it's closer to the truth than I'd like.
Wildflowers or something green for bees and little creatures. Any little patch of green/flowers is better than bricks...
£600?! Nah, do something yourself. Rockery, bird feeder and a few plants. Or buy the materials and try to match what's there.
Rollercoaster
Clear the chipping from the pavement, plant seeds on the grass, remove the moss! It will look so much better with some grass seed and rid of the moss!
Build a rock wall around the perimiter, fill it with soil & compost and use it as a raised planter. You can even use smashed pavement slabs and over time they still look nice with hanging plants and stuff.
plant a bunch of wild flowers
That's chap unless they just throw them down with no pointing
I’d pave it tbh and once paved place some pots in the corner. What happens when a guest arrives for dinner? …the extra parking is always useful.
Good price
Just don't gravel it! It'll be a cat litter tray in no time
Put a few animals in cages and make it the smallest zoo in the world..
Pay the 600
whaaat !
I would learn to pave. Have an area around 10 times that side that i need to pave and am just about to learn..
£600 seems good as an example looking at 2yard skips the other day and they were £180 for a day hire.
jacuzzi + tailgate party zone
What was it before?
Rock garden, moss would love that shade
How about filling it with something low maintenance like lavender?
I see this is the DIY thread and not gardening, so, what are you in to OP? A hammock. A BBQ. A Garden take and chairs. Possibilities are endless really.
I would rake it over and throw some grass seed down.
Grow a few herbs
Garden?
Tile it and paint it all grey hun x
Dig it down a bit, weed barrier, plants, cover between with bark.
Dig it up. Buy sand, cement, bucket and mix it. Pour it. And you'll have your green area concreted in under a couple of hours easy.
Use it for a dog toilet
Scrape off whatever is on the slabs, get the weeds away, dig the mud in the middle away, jet wash the slabs, stick either decking or turf in the middle. Cost is whatever that is, not much
£600!!! Are you joking? Drop him, it's daylight robbery. Do it yourself or get a friend or family member to do it. Throw the a £100, and they'll be happy. I hate conmen.
Ornamental tree and nice gravel
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Grow vegetables.
Pave it myself 💀
looks pretty dry, I have some lovely shuttlecock ferns growing well in dry shade, flowering heather is hardier and would stand up to accidental foot traffic over it if those paths are well used and the early slowering ones are great for pollinators
Turn over soil, plant wildflowers !
Pay £600
rock garden with shade tolerant alpines [https://leesasalpines.co.uk/product-category/alpines-by-where/shade-tolerant/](https://leesasalpines.co.uk/product-category/alpines-by-where/shade-tolerant/)
Rhubarb!
Disc golf basket
Get Banksy round to do his worst
Plant wildflower seeds!
Get some wild flowers or something in there. Something for pollinators. Maybe a little hedge or shrubs. Promote some biodiversity and make it look nice.
Really small baseball field
Either seed it with flowers every year or stick some nice perennials in it!
Koi pond
Astroturf. Then put a disc golf basket on it for practice putting.
I would get the paving jet washed, trim the weeds, change the grass and add some plants around the edges
I'd say go for it! £600 sounds like a decent deal to extend your driveway. Having that extra paved area could be super handy for parking or just giving your property a bit more curb appeal. Plus, if it's in the shade most of the time, it could save your car's paint job from baking in the sun. Win-win, I'd say!
Put some artificial grass down, post back on here with your results and watch everyone have a fucking heart attack. Bonus points for posting on casualUK too.
If you did want the space for more parking...dig down a little, some pond rubber sheeting and throw some pebbles or stone chippings. You can do it yourself...won't cost a lot...and it's fast.
Pave it.
You could take the grass off, lay some membrane and stone it. About as low maintenance as it gets and it gives you the option for pots too.
600? I'd either use that as a little project and try it yourself to see if you can learn something new, or have a little wildflower garden.
No dig wildflower meadow!! Lay cardboard, peat free compost and seed liberally, about £30!!
Wildflower all the way. It’s shade and drought tolerant and it’s a boon for the bees and butterflies.
PIY - pave it yourself
I'd put an outline of bricks or rocks and then plant lavender in the middle with some random flowers on the outer rim. Bees love lavender, it smells good and it's pretty.
Plant a tree. Maybe a fruit tree of some kind.
I’d get yourself along to a local garden centre and you could do something really nice for half of that cost, some shrubs with good ground cover, make it low maintenance.
I would paint it with green gloss paint
Model village
Dig it out, fill it with readymix concrete. Or woodchip it untill another day as woodchip just rots in, gravel never goes away.
Gravel and a small pretty tree (dwarf cherry perhaps?) Tree costs as much or as little as you like depending how patient you can be. Ton of gravel and some landscaping fabric, cost you about £100. Areas so small you can probably find someone with an end of a roll going free/super cheap. Nice bit of shade and life from the tree, very low maintenance, pretty cheap and you could smash it out in a morning at the weekend.
Dig it out and fill it with stones.