Gardening beginner just moved to a new flat with garden

York, United Kingdom

Hi all, and thank you in advance for your time.
To be honest, I have never seen myself as a gardening person, but I just moved to a new flat which has a lovely little garden, so I guess I should at least learn the basics.
I attach a picture of my garden as it is now. Using a few apps (plantNet and plant ID) it seems like a previous owner knew what they were doing, with several varieties of ivy and flowering plants. I found clematis viticella,crocosmia x crocosmia, rosa chinensis, cotoneaster francheti, pseudofumaria latea, buddleja davidii, sedum album, epilobium cilatum, and Jasminum officials. There are also three trees, two of which I don't know if they are still alive. Oh, and I also have a heavily loaded blackberry bush :).
As you can see, though, the garden has been left unattended for some time, so I'm hoping to get it back in shape, which is why I am here.
Starting with the very basics, I guess I have to first get rid of all the weeds or undesired plants?
I guess the next step would be to prune those plants that are getting a bit wild? Is there any rule of thumb on how to do this properly, or can I just cut wherever I like?
Is it possible to prune the plant with purple flowers (buddleja davidii?) in the center so that it isn't that tall (i.e. have the flowers at waist height, not over the wall)?
Regarding the trees, is there a way of knowing if they are alive (I can't feel a pulse!)?

As you can see, I am a total newbie and for now am aiming just to be able to do some basic maintenance.
Thank you very much for your help!
Trano

Thumbnail by Trano

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