Thank you. Yes I do like the sound of a charcoal colour but am hoping it won't dominate the look of the house and make it look to dark. Cheers

You should be able to find a concrete contractor who is also capable of doing masonry retaining walls. They would need to demolish the old walls and regrade the property to create a wider driveway. Then they would need to rebuild a wall which could be poured in place concrete or brick blocks or another retaining wall material. Once they have done that, then they would pour new concrete. in that portion of the driveway. You can discuss with them the options for the new concrete drive. If you find a talented concrete contractor, they should be able to handle the whole job for you....... Your other option is to hire a general contractor who would be capable of managing the entire project for you and bringing in the proper sub-contractors to do the work, but you will pay a bit more for this option......

It always makes my heart sink when a client asks for a "no-maintenance" garden. It tells me they really don't care. In truth, any planting needs a certain amount of care. Plants, like animals, need care. It's true that they're slower than animals to respond to deprivation, but respond they do. And it's not a good look. You might not have a lot of time, or you may not be physically up to a lot of gardening. That's fine - you can choose plants that require a minimum of care and grooming, and if need be hire somebody to do that minimum. But it does require planning. A gardener actively engaged with their garden can (and will!) experiment, try new things, move plants around, notice when things are going right and wrong, and for them a garden is never finished. Contrast that with somebody who wants a garden they don't want to work in or at. They want a garden that is more or less "finished" the day it is installed, rolled out like a stretch of lawn and meant to "behave", to stay static. I can't do a garden like that! Plants grow! They change, the environment around them can change, and what might have succeeded one year is not going to do it the next. It is entirely usual for a planting that just nicely fits a situation to need complete re-planting a few years on because the individual plants have outgrown the site. That's work! It is entirely usual for plants to flower, and for those flowers to set seed and die off. It is entirely usual for some plants to shed leaves as part of their yearly cycle. This "mess" is treated by non-gardeners as a crisis, as a nasty surprise, as something the plants "shouldn't" do. Because it makes work. Well, sorry, but no garden consultant can change the laws of nature. If you want a garden, you've bought work, and if you don't want to do it, you're going to need to pay somebody else. That's fine. Just don't ask for what you can't have.

They are most popular in temperate zones like Southern NSW & Victoria. You might struggle with humidity in Sydney and conifers. But the best people to chat to would be these people who can help you with selection and give you a realistic idea whether the intended plants would struggle in your climate. https://conifer.com.au/ The diosma's may be a bit more amenable to a Sydney locale since they aren't a conifer, but look very similar to one. They are a south african native and like so many other SA plants thrive in our local conditions and in the heat. Here is a blog about diosma. They are indeed a very pretty evergreen that prunes well into a nice low bush. https://thelinkssite.com/2013/05/26/diosmas-a-very-hardy-plant-for-your-garden/ If neither of those work there is a native with a similar appeal, it's a weeping wattle that might be just the ticket. I've seen this plant used to beautiful effect in cascading gardens and rockeries. It comes in several varieties and one a very bright lime green for a splash of colour. They flower too. https://www.nurseriesonline.com.au/plant-index/australian-native-plants/acacia-cognata/