Or you could put posts with trellis on your side to the height of the existing fence then grow clematis, honeysuckle and other climbers to soften the appearance. But certainly try the landlord. My brother's neighbour is renting and work needed doing on the garage. The landlady agreed to fund half the works on the rear wall which spanned both garages, so it was worth him contacting her. Our garden was done by professionals, and wasn't cheap, but in the first place we commissioned them to come up with designs based on certain things we wanted. That cost us about £120 and was money well spent. We were under no obligation to use them to do the work, and could have gone elsewhere or done it ourselves. But we're not natural gardeners and time and energy are lacking so they did the work for us. We developed a great rapport with the chap very quickly and felt we could trust him to deliver what we wanted. Their standard of workmanship was excellent and we're so pleased with the result. Having said were not natural gardeners, we now spend loads of time pottering in the garden because it is so easy to look after and we just enjoy being out there! Angie

Hi there I think you've been given some good ideas already. Definitely replace the retaining wall this will have a massive effect on the overall look and feel of your garden. Search retaining wall photos on here and there are literally hundreds of ideas! Something as a nice focal point with steps going down to the lower level. And definitely some planting on the mid level whether grasses, shrubs or just perennial flowers would soften the look. Definitely lose the fence in the middle, and I would paint all other fences (if in good condition) dark grey to make them "fade from view". Beautiful stone retaining wall although personally I quite like sleepers too! Planting between levels Dark fences If your kids use the trampoline that needs to be thought about where to position, as it is a large feature! Where you have the small shed at the right hand side I would build a large shed / summer house right across the width of that lower level, to maximise storage... Maybe one side could be storage, the other a play house? Or something like this that could double for both and still look pretty. I would definitely try to incorporate the different levels with a play area built over both, here are a couple of ideas. Kids love to climb, and you have a good space to create something they will love. If you are handy its amazing what you can create without spending heaps. And one other thing, for me gravel in a garden where there's kids is an absolute no no! They ruin it! and it goes in all the areas of the garden where you didn't want gravel! So if it was me, I would make a nice deck or patio at the back of the house for relaxing & bbq, then take up the whole of that middle bit where you currently have furniture and gravel areas, and turf the whole lot, with a path going down to the new retaining wall feature! :) You don't mention budget much or what your ideal style would be, but thinking about similar things ourselves at the minute thought I'd share with you some ideas! Hope it helps!

Have you thought of gabions, provided you put the facing layer of something attractive that you like you can fill the back with all the old bricks and rubble (no soil) that would save on the amount of money you would have to spend on the facing and journeys to the tip to get rid of rubbish. If you wanted you could add a decking board, or anything you fancied on the top to use as seating this doesn't need to be the full width of the garden and is quite cheap to buy but do treat with preservative to give a long life, I definitely would put plants behind to stop people tripping over and falling on to the patio. Hope this will helps you.

Lots of great suggestions there. I would just echo a few points that I feel are really important: Reinvigorate the soil. This is absolutely vital. Like Rachel says, the Leylandii will have sucked the soil dry of nutrient so add loads and loads of organic material like well rotted horse manure or garden compost. It is almost impossible to add too much and mostly people add far too little. You can also top dress the bed every year after, to help keep your new plants healthy. It is also a chance to add some horticultural grit to improve drainage if this is a problem. Think carefully about what effect you are after before being 'wowed' by plants at a nursery. One important decision is about how much evergreen you want for screening. You could just have an evergreen hedge that you clip to keep controlled and then plant in front of that the lovely Acers and other deciduous plants that folks have already mentioned. Remember 'right plant, right place'. If there are successful Rhododendrons just up the road then it is likely that your soil is acidic, so choose plants that prefer that type of soil. Finally - have fun!