adding a comment to try and bump this up

I think your idea of moving the shed is a good one. What do you store in the shed? Asking because it doesn't look like you have much maintenance necessary for your yard and if you don't have a lot of gardening tools, maybe that could go, too. It looks like your children are young, judging from their toys, so do you need the trampoline at this point?

Your spring pictures show a lovely private spot and I would just try to continue that feeling. It is hard to tell what the difference in level is from your pictures. The grass looks level with the lighter area which I assume is the deck. I am guessing the red box is the firehose. Is that necessary? I cannot tell what you are referring to as cinderblock or the steps. Is the white awning thing thing what you are calling a gutter cover? Maybe it is just me being tired, but I can't really connect your comments to your pictures. With luck, someone else will chime in here!

Thanks!
the white thing is a gutter cover
yes - my kids are going. they love the trampoline so going to keep that

we keep bikes mostly in the shed but also could keep those in the basement

the red box is a firehose

as you said from the spring pics - the main part if lovely - want to plant some more to build up the trees for privacy but in general it’s really nice but when you round the corner it’s pretty much all wasted space - from where there’s the cinder block / red hose / white gutter cover / storage shed .... and i was asking for ideas of how to do more there

Yes, I did understand that, but it is so difficult to figure out your actual layout from your pictures and I have looked at them all several times. Maybe someone else will chime in here who has better ideas. It seems that, unless you can remove the cinderblocks, a container garden is your only option.You could always create a small sitting area there. It also looks as though there is a fence or something between your garden area and the rest.

Is the gutter guard flat on the ground? I have never seen anything like that. Is it over in-ground drainage? I still don't see any steps and some pictures seem to show that the area you are needing help with is a straight shot from your garden area. Is the area with the table at a 90 degree angle from the cinder block section!

It is certainly much easier to keep the bikes in the shed, so maybe just switch places with the trampoline which would connect that to the play area.

sorry i couldn’t get a good pic and thanks for you help! i actually just sold the shed bc we don’t really need it and there’s an entirely seperate area we can keep the bikes with something like this -
https://a.aliexpress.com/_vNyR0b

the gutter cover is actually a mini pergola bc we were having major water damage in our basement and this was a way to keep the flow in the ac there while keeping the water out

this is what i think i’m going to do (if it makes sense)

the area between the gutter and firehose will make a small path using the same deck tile but in herringbone and then a step going to the second half (replacing the cinder block) and add flowers on the side, maybe a tree if there’s space to try and half cover the firehose so it’s usable but less ugly

where the shed used to be maybe i’ll put a bench / small table and chairs and some flowers (or something else not really sure)

i want to do a vertical garden kind of thing above the white gutters but i’m nervous it’ll damage the brick like some posts about vertical gardens have said. that wall goes up to a balcony off our laundry room so i was also thinking maybe of planting some potted ivy there that would eventually make it’s way down

the layout is:
walk out of our house (kitchen or living room) and we see this - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nYV2TRL3P60Zu1WNJ7KTN2osMU6GKerc/view?usp=drivesdk

the walls on the sides you see are other people’s back yard bc it’s a very urban area

if you turn around the corner to the right from the hammock that’s there there’s the cinder block you go down to get to the gutter and firehose. continue walking and you see where the shed used to be and then the trampoline

Got it, I think. So what looks to me like a wall (narrow white line running width of area with rectangular step to its right) to the left of the gutter/pergola/cover in the aerial shot is actually the step, I guess.

I like your idea of plants from above, but you could also do flowering climbing plants in pots which could be lovely and maybe even break up the large expanse of white.

Yes, a small seating area would be lovely and make it easy to keep an eye on the wee ones while they play on the trampoline! I am sorry I wasn't so much help, but it sounds like you have come up with a pretty good plan. I do think I would get a huge pot and plant a shrub of some sort in front of the fire hose. Is that required by code? I have never seen one like that.

I will look forward to seeing what your results come spring/summer!