It's tiny so lends itself to containment and simplicity. I'd shift your mango tree to be a few feet to the front right so it could shade you and hide the view of the boxes. They grow pretty big don't they? The Perth Bricklaying's idea of brick planter boxes is good and I'd surround the sides and front with them. You could have a lower growing hedge all round. Hopefully your neighbour would like a little backdrop to their bit instead of the slabs. By shading from the front you will create less sun and heat for anything growing inside the wall, like the groundcover, and some flowers in pots in the outer corners perhaps. which would be nice to look out on, and obviously watering is the key to their survival. :)

i would also like to add.. if you can id remove the extra path of brown brick pavers and landscape this row with a row of lovely plants like protons large lush leaf plants to add some impact and fill with more river stones. i think adding a couple of lovely potted plants behind the wall would give it a fresher look. I also agree with the other posters not to render. If the future owners would like to render they can. It can be a very messy process in which plants often get damaged..so best to leave it, unless you want to wait till they have all recovered. All the best with your sale. Also i believe adding a fresh porch light will modernise the entrance as well as a great new door matt.

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.

Hi there Michelle, Have you thought about using artificial Vertical Gardens/Hedges on the fence? It's crazy how like-like it looks and it is all UV protected to ensure longevity. We are located in VIC (ship across Aus) and using our product by the pool wont affect it at all! There's so many designs to choose from and it is extremely easy to install. If you are still not sure get in touch with us today and we can send you up some samples to show you just how good the product is! Below are some photos of previous jobs we have done to give you an idea - many more on our Houzz Profile! Cheers, Aidan Designer Plants Australia