Jonathan Cole

I don't really trust the pH test kit I bought off Amazon. Gave very dubious results.

I know it seems unscientific, but have a nose at what your neighbours are growing and what is thriving. Or even your weeds. That gives an idea of what the soil is like.

On the UK soil mapping it says Hastings as slightly acidic clayey-loam.

Your pH could be wonky due to things being added. I know some manure gets limed to reduce the smell and it definitely seemed to affect my pH around the veg beds.

Apple's, pears and plums are probably fine. Only issue likely to be blueberries, but they're stupid fussy plants anyway and need careful soil choice, special food and endless watering.

One other thing to consider is that trees don't necessarily have to be tree shaped. There's a lot of options around training them. For instance, training you plum as a fan in front of the fence by the stairs (so the south-facing side if I am reading the plans right) would provide fruit and keep it flatter to the fence. That might then give you space for another tree where you had the possible tree marked, while ensuring your plum gets lots of sunshine and produces easily accessible fruit.

The current possible tree location may also shade the concrete area you were considering for a greenhouse, so keep that in mind. Will be more or less of an issue depending on the type of tree (so how dense the crown is), the height and the way you prune it.

Planting trees really is best as bare root in autumn / winter. It's too late now I think. You can definitely get started mulching, but also could put in shrubs that don't mind the sun as well as shade. It's a bit backwards, but many things can be moved anyway if you want to later. If you are willing to water then you can start lots of things in pots and plant out later. Certainly if you are growing from seed then it's probably more successful to start in pots anyway.

Coppice suppliers can be found here: https://coppice-products.co.uk/

I've had things from people up here in the North. They've all been lovely and very helpful.

I'm still very much an amateur, but I can give a view on your questions.
- Can a small space add value for wildlife? Emphatically yes. For a small garden near houses I would aim for insects and birds. Creating lots of small mammal habitat may just encourage rats. Trees (as you planned) and ahrubs (especially thorny ones for protection) are great for birds. Blackbirds love picking through disturbed soil or woodchip as well, so just working the garden may attract them. Easiest thing for insects is get any plants in other than grass, and some flowering ones for pollinators. To a degree anything will work, but things like clover and dandelions in the grass are a very easy first step.

- can you make a pond without a liner? Yes, maybe. Look up puddles clay. The other option is to make container pond from an old sink, barrel etc. If they aren't already watertight you know the exact size for liners.

- soil. I wouldn't bother strippinf turf. Lay cardboard on top of the grass and mulch areas you want to plant. I'd you do dignit out stack the turf grass to grass and root to root and it'll decompose giving nice useable soil for raised beds etc.

- edible perennials. Easiest are probably berries like redcurrant, raspberry, wild strawberry etc. Leafy ones are possible, may e something like a hawthorn for hedging, bird habitat and edible young leaves.  

- soil again. You are probably thinking about wildflower meadows, which thrive better on poor soil because the grass competes too well especially on good soil. You can so use yellow rattle to suppress the grass. Some plants, like clover, thistles and dandelions will compete well.in a lawn area regardless.

- embodied energy/carbon. Grow what you can from seeds or cuttings you've taken. You can get cuttings from friends and neighbours usually with minimal drama. If you do buy plants try to find local nurseries to minimise transport. Avoid imported plants where possible because of the risks of importing diseases. Cuttings and seeds have the advantage of also generally avoiding importing pests like vine weevils. If you do buy plants get small ones. They usually establish better anyway.

It's an exciting project! You can make it a really lovely space. As you design, think about the sun, shade and rainfall each part gets. Get big, slow growers right by thinking carefully. Smaller or faster plants can be moved or regrown if they don't work out, so much easier to play with.