Thank you Houzzers for all your help and insight. We live in Melbourn's East. I love Diosima and they grow well in my garden. I was ready to go and get some planted when I read the comment about maintenance. I see our neighbour out there with scissors hedging his and just cannot see myself doing that - I had to rethink the idea. I don't mind Plumbago and love Bottlebrushes. ( was not aware of the upright species so I will look into it) have some here and they look lovely and make me smile with all the birds coming to visit. I just love the comments and suggestions. Thank you all!

Are you sure the roof is stainless steel?? That is VERY expensive and only used in very exposed corrosive coastal locations since it lasts forever. I think it might be Zincalume, a low cost but very durable and very common roofing material that has a light silvery surface and should last for 50 years. Definitely do NOT paint the roof black (or any dark colour), it would add more than 10° to the internal heat load, and you would have to spend so much more on insulation and on-going AC costs just to get back to where you are now. Have the roof checked and repaired by a roof plumber instead. If it's an old leaky galvanised iron roof at the end of it's days, replace it with zincalume. The porch roof looks like it needs replacing, but I would replace it with new roofing, possibly the insulated sandwich panel kind, that has a smooth white underside, then add a gutter to the front edge so you don't make your visitors walk under a waterfall in the rain. The canvas awning suggested earlier would not last as long without looking tired and would require the removal of existing roof structure, so I think it would be the more costly option (and you would still have the waterfall problem). I would leave the front fence as is, it ties in nicely with the house, but trim the tree. The back deck could easily be roofed to match the front, and be more useful to tenants with weather protection. It would be good to make all trim colours the same, and against the cream brick I think the dark grey you have on the front door and columns works quite well. I would make the other windows and trim, as well as the weatherboards over the back door match that if it just involves painting. However, it's not essential and if it means changing powdercoat finishes it would be too costly to be worthwhile in a rental.

Staying safe is another bonus once the fence goes in. Even with sensor lights & 2 dogs, the vandalism can’t be heard over the hum of the air conditioning. I will definitely feel safer once the fence goes in!

Hi Ginger , I'm in New Zealand , and the suggestions I would make if your house was here in NZ or Australia would be that there's nothing wrong with the house itself , I like the colour and style . What I would focus on is 'the rest' . The garden looks a bit new and a bit plain -- personally , I'd do a big colourful glazed pot , at least 60cm tall and wide ( 2 ft ) in your favoured blue or red or burgundy or green or similar , and have it 'in' the garden near the footpath ( you might need to move 1 plant ) . Maybe something unusual -- a bamboo or cactus or 3 or 4 small plants ? In the main garden , add some variety too -- a brown flax , a shrub with red leaves , 3 or 4 low yellow grasses ? The pergola over the door I like -- white rails and uprights , maybe a slightly sloping clear plastic roof -- it would tie in with the door , the windows and the look and era . The fences I would stain charcoal -- that would fade and weather well , and although 'black' ( charcoal ) , yellow and white is pretty cliche'd , it would work , and hopefully be different enough to make your place stand out from all the copying neighbours haha .