It's the view of the ugly fence and the neighbour's house that bothers me the most. Potential buyers are put off by unpleasant views and I would definitely paint it a dark green or grey then plant some screening trees all the way along it- tall, narrow & evergreen pencil pines. The creeper on the fence/trellis isn't doing enough imo. As for the vegie patch, dig in some mushroom compost, make a couple of tee pees for some climbing beans or cherry tomatoes in each bed, plant lots of salad varieties and herbs around the edges, mulch well..hey presto in a few weeks. We all need a little visual inspiration sometimes.

Yes the eastern states have been copping it. Snow etc, I am not a fan of cold. In the west has not been as bad, just a bit of a whinger when I think how cold you guys have had it, even Brisbane. I am waiting for those new solar panels with battery storage capacity (tesla) to come down in price in the next few years, before we retire I would like to have them in and paid for.

What a lovely garden you have and cute and attractive shed on property line. Perhaps expand with more bird feeders of varying heights like you already have, positioned just in front of back of shed and a larger birdbath or two (one taller, one shorter). The narrow trellis you already have there could have a non-intrusive bird and bee friendly climbing plant of some kind.

I'd be different , and wouldn't go too dark -- I'd almost consider a light grey or a sandstone or even a very light green/grey as the main colour , with the windows and shutters in the crisp white . Boring eh ? THEN though , I'd do the gutters and garage door in the brightest red or orange or yellow -- that balances out the crisp white features . And then , I'd do a largish sloping pergola about twice the width of the front veranda entrance( basically about as wide as the edge of the windows -- maybe 4-5metres , and coming out around 2 metres . The higher edge would be above that 'break' line , and therefore camoflauge that . Personally , I'd do it in a nice mid red type stain ( or use a rich timber and varnish it ) , but charcoal would work and contrast too . I'd levae the bricks , waterblast the drive , add a couple of big glossy terracotta pots ( maybe 1metre or more tall ) in the same colour as your gutterings , with cactus or similar -- these can even be added later as budget permits . Depending on your skills , it would be pretty budget ( maybe under $10K ? ) but it would really lift the look . Just an idea .