i supose it is quite a long bed to look after

You could go for large shrubs here to cut down on cost and maintenance? I think maybe the trees are taking a lot of light and water? Are you planning to remove these? If not you could put a weed suppressant membrane down and gravel or mulch it?

Sound advice Drc. Then you can cut the membrane to plant through it - if this is a shady area, there are some great shade-loving plants out there, Hardy Geraniums, Epimediums, Viola's, Heucheras, Hellebores, Ferns etc.

thanks for the advice folks,
i've had a change of heart tho, think i'm gunna leave this part till last, build up my strength on the other areas first (i've got another blog brewing on the section i'm working on now lol.)
Also when ma n pa were here, talking to Ms Andrews it was decided that maybe we should get some real gardeners in clean this area up so i'm gonna wait and see what happens (i won't hold me breath tho lol)

Sounds like a good idea to me. :-)

Certainly a big area to tackle Claire, scrounge some help on clearance if you can...then you can get your design head on...:o))