Did you decide to buy the house? People I know with big boulders in the yard have done some excellent gardening around it and it's a definite feature, but not ideal if you have kids or kids visiting and it's big enough for them to fall off it. Sounds like a great challenge for a landscaper Are you considering this option or are you happy to take it on yourself?

I'm not a professional landscaper but as a parent I actually disagree... Gardens for kids need to be somewhere to stimulate the imagination and dream and play. Don't kids always have a ball exploring their grandparents gardens? I would go for large leaf plants that create secret hidey cubby spots under the foliage, fragrant herbs that can be brushed up against. Ornamental grasses with big seedy stalks, Bright cheerful flowers that can be picked for all sorts of potions. I would recommend NOT making your backyard like a playground, because that takes the joy away from trips to the park. All the different levels are great for adventures and imagination. Don't make it too safe... those rocks are EXACTLY where your kids will want to walk along and perfect their motor skills and balancing and risk assessment skills. They won't get into too much danger in your backyard. You could terrace the slope and plant into it with herbs and some kid friendly plants like herbs, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, strawberries. Then down the track have more grownup choices. Also plants that will attract birds, lizards and other wildlife for the kids to enjoy. Large bushes like grevillea and bottle brushes -you can get groundcover rambling ones on these also- they will attract beautiful birds like rosellas which the kids can enjoy. I would go for a garden that can be discovered and explored and let kids imagination take over. You want a garden that can be a castle, a pirate ship, a rocket, the moon, a fairy forest, whatever! As far as actual play things, Use logs or stepping stones through the garden beds to protect the plants from being trampled. Don't make paths through, but space them randomly so the kids can go any direction. A few areas with river pebbles... nice round smooth ones in different colours, that can be stacked and played with will be endlessly entertaining. Don't underestimate the fun and joy of sticks and stones! Logs in alternating heights through the garden bed will create a great rambling obstacle course to balance on. If you want to go there, maybe add a slide down the slope of the hill next to the step. Or a secret pipe for sending cars or messages down. There is a great toy called sticklets that can be used to connect larger sticks and branches to make forts and cubbies. But its not really necessary. A lot of those play equipment sorts of things are just too rigid in the way the kids can use them. Kids need a little space, and lots and lots of wild and green! This website has some awesome ideas! http://www.letthechildrenplay.net

Hi Kathy, so thrilled to hear my comments got you started thinking of the big picture, it has been a pleasure working with this. When you are starting totally from scratch like this it is easy to become too close to the issues and the brain becomes overloaded so you can't see the woods for the trees. I think this is also a classic example of why I always tell people to live in a house for a year before beginning to decorate, as hard as it is to be patient and wait, you do need to get the feel for a house and relate your lifestyle to it. I do like your idea of splitting the room into two areas, the room looks big enough to give you this option, and to me intimate spaces within a room create a more welcoming and homely feel. When you have a good idea of the furniture you would like, put what you have in the room and measure anything else before you buy it, use newspaper or cardboard boxes the size of the pieces and put them around the room to ensure you are going to get the desired result. It can be so easy to over or under estimate just how much space furniture will take up. Sorry the green lounge in the study didn't work out, but glad this has helped you see options. Just my personal opinion, one of my joeys had a lovely old grandfather clock in her lounge room and while it was a beautiful piece of furniture to look at, I just found it a little on the intrusive side - with its constant chiming it just didn't make the room feel relaxing, one was just so aware of the passing of time. Of course this can be advantageous when certain rellies visit. She ended up moving hers to her entrance foyer where it was a stand out feature and the lounge room became so much more relaxing. Love to see some photos of your landscaping.

Agree with the majority... use hearty plants , that love the dry hot conditions... don't worry you have plenty of choices and colours so there will be colour ! A good organic soil that has been turned well! Plenty of good water between days that at hot... But most of all , your mulch is the key factor here if you don't use a good one , all will end and quickly ... some mulch tend to disappear quickly , some seperate in large water drenching . Because you are on the slope maybe try running Hardwood timber palings from end to end in around 3 sections to stop the mulching sliding . And my choice of mulch Hardwood Chip , not mulch but chip lasts for a bloody long time ! I'm a cabinet maker via trade but love green thumbing