Hi, I'm a 1st time buyer - a ground floor flat with a garden. I have zero gardening experience!

My main task is to make the garden more secluded as at the moment there is just a slotted fence, and the many people who walk by can see in. Ideally I'd like to get this sorted for the Summer.

Can anyone offer some cheap(ish) and little effort solutions? Is ivy a possibility, and would I need to stick a climbing mesh up first? Or Simply plant a load of hedgerows - what types should I look out for?

No matter what I do, it won't stop the trampoline kids next door and the guy from upstairs who stands smoking at my gate every 30 mins looking in! But hey, it would be better than it is now.

Also, any other tips on how to pretty up the garden? I'd really like to start growing herbs/vegetables somehow/somewhere too. The photos attached show the garden before it was turfed a few months ago.

Thanks for reading.