Turning over a New Leaf

I want to turn over a new leaf.... in the front garden. There's a patch of grass that's annoying as it's too small for the ride-on mower and it just gets in the way and looks a mess. So I'm looking into digging it all up and planting bushes and flowers and lots of meadow flowers. I want to put in a bird bath, a bench a couple of small trees and even a swing. All of this more for show than anything else but also for low maintenance as in, tidy it up in autumn, let it look bleak in winter, sow seeds in spring and get it ready for summer, enjoy the summer view. I took a couple of pictures here and here of what it looks like before the change. I bought $300 worth of plants a weekend ago and got them all in. I had a few vouchers that I needed to use up by mid next year. I didn't realise that it would be that expensive for plants though. Especially as you need to buy a few of the same to have that mass effect in some areas. Another issue I have is weeds so I've bought some ground cover too. I shall see what that does. I might go and buy some more if it seems to be stopping the weeds from taking over.