Your profile says you are in New Zealand so I won't pop round and take a look for you this week. As you say it has lots of potential and there's no reason the pergola can't be replaced with a new, sturdy one. As pannacotta says, decide what you want to do with it and ask a professional around to offer some direction.

Garden designers charge but usually they ask the right questions to get you a design you can live with quite happily and can often actually prevent costly mistakes. People who call themselves landscapers are usually hard landscapers who want to cover the earth's surface in concrete, usually with prettier slabs or something on top, whilst the garden maintenance specialists love plants, lawns, plants and lawns, not necessarily in that order. So you are sometimes better off with a gifted all-rounder unless you have a definite preference for one direction or the other.

Nearly forgot! Get rid of the rubbish before they arrive. If they suspect that's part of the job they'll run a mile. Well I would, anyway. Or I'd quote you a fortune just to put you off hiring me.

It's roughly east facing, in the Southern Hemisphere - yes I'm in NZ. It gets decent sun, some parts better than others, some shady parts. I'm inexperienced at gardening but discovered I liked it recently when I had to mow a lawn and weed for the first time ever (yes!). I would like to grow herbs, some veggies eg lettuces, and would like some potted plants around. Maybe a smidge of lawn - if not, just nicely done potted garden. Pergola might rebuild but deck coming out. I like country cottage, rather than modern lifestyle block.

In which case you're already half way there, Jenny. Your herbs and veg choices are generally very easy to grow, just follow the instructions on the seed packets or lurk on two or three of the oh-so-many gardening forums out there.

Get a couple of labourers in to clear out all the old hardscaping crud, to free up some soil surface which you need to work on and hire a competent joiner to build you a pergola. The soil may be somewhat unproductive having been hidden under brick and concrete for so long, so mix in fresh compost to tease some life back into it.

The beauty about planting is that, if you get the layout wrong, you can lay it out differently for the following season. So experiment a little until you're happy with it before deciding where to lay a lawn and more permanent pathways or other fixed features.

Finally, remember that raised beds and pots dry out quicker than open ground so keep anything growing in them regularly watered.

So off you go then. Enjoy!

Is it a mission to remove brickwork and concrete?

No, most certainly not. Keep whatever you like. If it were me I'd definitely keep those walls retaining the raised planting but would that be to your taste? Only you can decide. You've said you hate the washing line so get rid of it. You've said the timber in the pergola and the decking is shot so that needs to go. Get rid of anything that is way past its best, which is what I meant by old hardscaping crud. Whether to replace any or all of it is your decision.

Give yourself enough space to experiment. Ask local people for ideas, whether they be visitors to your home or in online forums. They know your climate and growing conditions. If you are undecided about anything that is there just now, leave it where it is and see how it fits in after trying a few things out. You can always get rid later if it doesn't work.

Also, consider the budget. If you want to do it quickly you can hire people in to do it all now. Or you can do a bit at a time once the worn out crud has been removed. Even that can be done in stages. It's your home, your time, your money and you live in a free society.

We're well into the working day here at almost 10.00 a.m. and I should be doing other things. I'll come back with a couple of ideas for you later.

You need some earth to plant in. You could do it all in pots and planters but in the ground is better and less demanding on the maintenance front. You'll be removing the raised decking but may be replacing the pergola above it, shading the area probably too much for effective planting. Put something else such as seating or table and chairs there for now.

The rest of the ground is currently covered in bricks and concrete apart from the barbeque area, which is decking. From what you've said that decking is in decent condition. So now we go to work. I'm setting this work out in sections as a DIY project which could be done stage by stage over any period of time, or periods of time with gaps between, that you choose. I would extend the period of my plan if progress is slow, speed it up if progress is better than anticipated.

My plan would start with removing the weeds and dried out plants from the raised beds, both the brick walled and the wooden walled ones. They would be planted with what I want to put there after the soil had been seriously refreshed by mixing in a good amount of fresh compost. Something like three or four inches depth of compost mixed with the top four or five inches depth of soil in the raised bed.

My next priority would be to create more growing space. To do that I would remove quite a lot of the bricks from the ground, clean them off as well as I could and store them for now. Some will probably break up, and those would be dumped. The good ones can be used as temporary access paths and pot stands, which will be moved around throughout the following stages.

Lots of compost would be added to the newly revealed soil and that is where the next stage of planting would occur.

The concrete next. We need to know how thick it is and that will be easy to see at the previous stage with a few bricks removed. Very thick? That's a tough job. Two inches thick? An inch? Less? The thinner the easier. A few whacks with a heavy hammer should break a thin layer up. If it is too thick for that you will need to hire somebody with the effective machinery for the job. I can't see the access in the pix so cannot guide you on what machinery. There is nothing broken up concrete can be used for so it has to go.

The revealed earth needs to be revived in the same way as the rest was before planting takes place.

We have ended up with bare earth, maybe some bricks left in the ground but otherwise just what we've planted and the loosely laid bricks. Where do you want your path now it's to become a more permanent feature? Don't forget access to the raised beds so you can tend the plants. Where do you want your potted plants? The path and the bases for the pots can now be made stable by putting the bricks back into the ground. I prefer them on their sides but that is up to you. Flat as they are now, on their sides, or a mixture, perhaps side on for the paving and flat as pot supports? I would experiment a little if I hadn't used bricks this way before. No way is right or wrong. It is all down to personal preference.

Any bricks still in the ground from the beginning can now be either taken out and used in the plan or perhaps a few have happily ended up just where they're needed.

So there is a way forward with very little spending involved. Seeds are mostly very cheap. Plants are cheaper than other materials, labour or professional services. You will swear a lot, sweat a lot and have lots of fun. You will also learn a great deal. If you do end up still feeling you need help you will understand exactly how to brief the professional you appoint.

I would be immensely proud of myself if I could achieve a fraction of that….! Thanks so much for your help. I have someone coming round tomorrow to do demolition derby on the back deck and pergola. We don't know what's underneath - could be surprises, hopefully no bad ones. With any luck, the concrete path ends there and we can see it's thickness. Access is not the best - just an average sized back door and no side entries, so you have to go through the house! Either that or persuade the neighbour to let you in through their garden and over the fence. Lol.

Love the bleached weathered wood! Please don't stain it donkey brown. Love the brick wall. Plant some inexpensive plants to tumble down it..if its sunny some nasturtiums. They thrive in poor soil. Pots of Pelargoniums (geraniums) need little attention. Plant proper geranium which are low growing, spread, are perennial & come in amazing colours above the brick wall. they will hang down too. This is going to be great!

Update: the deck and most of pergola now removed. This is what was underneath. I would like to get all that dirt out and have ground level, but next door's ground is at a slight higher level and this might cause more water to come into my garden. Could do retaining wall. On the other side reinforcement is needed too, so both sides will need retaining walls of some sort. The second photo is taken from on top of the dirt looking back into the garden. The deck is now washed. The back door area and brickwork next to it is a dark corner, doesn't get as much sun, I want to brighten it up. It will be prone to moss and mould on the brickwork.

Update: the deck and most of pergola now removed. This is what was underneath. I would like to get all that dirt out and have ground level, but next door's ground is at a slight higher level and this might cause more water to come into my garden. Could do retaining wall. On the other side reinforcement is needed too, so both sides will need retaining walls of some sort. The second photo is taken from on top of the dirt looking back into the garden. The deck is now washed. The back door area and brickwork next to it is a dark corner, doesn't get as much sun, I want to brighten it up. It will be prone to moss and mould on the brickwork.

OK, so unless there is a disproportionate level of pressure for such a small height difference do retaining 9" walls of "double skin" using some of the bricks that are currently filling up all of your growing space. A standard brick is 4.5" wide and 9" long, so that's like two 4.5" wide brick walls touching together, with the occasional brick at 90 degrees to the others so it anchors them. Any skilled bricklayer, most odd-job practitioners and an amazing proportion of labourers can build them. Use pipes or French drains from the bottoms of the retaining walls into a manhole or soakaway to get rid of surplus water. Progress is slow and frustrating but a step at a time will get you there.