I can't distinguish all the plants you have currently but at the very least the tree ferns and bird's nest ferns of that size are quite valuable and it would be worth investigating local buy/sell/swap sites if you don't want to include them in your new space -might even help finance the work. If you aren't a green thumb then I would get a professional in to give you advice as a first step. A good tidy up and thinning out of the strappy plants, potted plants etc might make the space feel fresher and more inviting.

You're still not going to use it in Winter if there's no sun for 6months. If that's still a problem for you, consider renovating the area, selling when the market is right, and buying a North facing backyard home.

Thanks, I think part of the problem with lack of light is due to all the plants. We just think it looks all too messy, will keep the ferns and palms as they are healthy and worth a bit. I think we will just excavate everything out and start from scratch....there is a lot of wasted space back there!

Hope you find your little sunbeam to sit in!

Hi Rog

I would start with getting rid of all the potted plants and trim anything overhanging onto the paving. Small things like this can sometimes make a big difference and save you a lot of work.

I have a lot of tropical plants in my small courtyard for shade and freshness in summer. I trim larger plants in winter to let air and light in. On my patio I have a couple of large planters on wheels so I can place them where I need shade, then move them out of the way in winter to open up my patio.

Some good ideas being tossed around but if you want something like the Bondi courtyard Id advise you to consult a professional. There are some very talented designers based around the Inner West area of Sydney. Several of them have Houzz listings and should be easy to track down.

A quickfix could be to treat the bricks when needed to prevent them getting mouldy and slippery, there are several products on the markets and check there reviews. Please before you make drastic changes note where the sun and shade falls on a sunny day IN winter. Then you may find which plants need trimmimg or removing if any . we have next door neighbours trees casting winter shade and as a result have no control over sunlight . I adore the character of the bricks pavers . most other structures like timber decking will still eventually get slippery, large pebbles may not be suitable as they can be unstable to walk on. good luck . keep us posted on the outcome

I agree with Liliana, those brick pavers are lovely and look very well laid. Timber decking will not solve the problem of the shade either. It looks like the plantings are helping to give you privacy too, so pulling them out could make your garden a goldfish bowl and be even more useless. It looks like you can't avoid having two levels either, so I would look at making the most of what is already there unless you have a lot of money to spend. A pressure water sprayer will quickly solve the problem of any moss - I have a lot of moss problems in a courtyard over winter, but I just enjoy the greenery it adds at a time when very little else is green. With winter now approaching (well hopefully) take time out to be realistic about just how often you would use this space over the next 3 or 4 months.

Be realistic about furniture too, with no sun, anything you have out there will take days to be dry enough to sit on, even the evening dew will have everything constantly wet, especially timber, and do you have heaps of space to store cushions indoors when it is raining.

Unless you want to make enemies with all your neighbours - don't even think about a fire pit!

you can get permanent non slip finish on Concrete but it will still get mouldy if you cant control the sunlight. Invest in a pressure washer and maybe cover some of the area near the house with something like a retractable light colored canvas roof awning they look awesome. they look like a roman blind laid out flat but used as a rooftop, they still let light in and may make your area less vulnerable to the winter weather and make it more usable

retractable blind if you are interested

Problem is in Balmain, Rog probably doesn't have a front yard so this back area would be all his outdoor space for both summer and winter. Is that a huge gum tree at the back?

Hi Olldroo, good to see you here... Not familiar with the area, so will need to take on your advisement :). We have no back to speak of, our patio is it ..was unusable until tweaked. Our block is 359 m2 the front is quite a nice sized courtyard..north facing so very lucky.

Hi wuff, good to see you too. Balmain is a gorgeous inner city suburb with lots of old terrace houses, which I'm assuming this house is, so privacy could well be an issue here too and possibly why the previous owners created this oasis.

If I was lucky enough to live in Balmain I'd be out on the water.

Wow, what great feedback by everyone!

We are happy to spend a bit of money to make it a modern, usable backyard. Balmain is quite a close packed neighbourhood, but we are lucky that our yard is quite private, even if there were no plants. I realist that there would be 3-4 months of the year where we would not use it at all, but those other 9 months we really want a space for outdoor dining, bbq-ing, sitting outside reading. Our personal taste is modern. Plus the property is worth well north of $2M, we want a space to reflect that valuation.

The bricks pavers are nice, but require constant work to look good. Still leaning towards what they have done to that Bondi property above.

I will do, though we will be renovating the outside of the house first, then the yard (all next year). Also looking for advise on what to do with the front of the house (new thread coming up!)

Rog, how long have you been living there? I always feel it is good idea to have a year in a house to cover all seasons and to really decide how you will live in the house.

Is your house Heritage Listed?

Do put a link to any new threads here, they are often easy to miss.

Thanks Olldroo, we have been here for nearly 2 years, so seen enough seasons to know how we would use it.

House is not heritage listed, but the entire Balmain peninsula has a heritage overlay, so all outdoor work must go through approval.

Seeking feedback on the front of house too here - [House Front[(https://www.houzz.com.au/discussions/how-do-i-modernise-my-balmain-terrace-dsvw-vd~3924024)

Hi Luke, we have had a preliminary talk with an Architect, and as we want to make some large changes are going to same some money for another 12 months before we begin.

Keep us posted Rog, time often helps sort priorities too. Good luck with it all.

Hi Rog M,

To spruce up the outdoor living space, consider the following options: Decking, Repaving or scaling back on the existing plants to let more light into the yard ( to assist in solving the dampness issue).

Crana Avenue East Lindfield · More Info

White Street, Artarmon · More Info

Stafford Road, Artarmon · More Info

McIntyre St, Gordon · More Info

After 5 years of planning and construction our project is complete. Here is a before pic and a few after pics of the garden. We love it!

Love the light and brightness of this makeover. The improvements have worked very well. I will be showing my daughter who has a small yard.

Wow, what a difference, I had no idea just how big the area was from the before photos, but this looks great - clean and easy to maintain as well. I can see in time the plantings will give a nice lushness and softness to the area that will also help visually cool the area in summer as well. I also like the elevated garden - I can assure you this is a real bonus in senior years.

Wondering how many of the old crowd are still around, I lost the ability to post photos after a computer update quite some years back and then couldn't make comments either, so I'm thrilled suddenly the site seems to be working for me. I felt I'd been excommunicated.

Not long after this post, I up and sold my Sydney house, was totally fed up with the overdevelopment happening and moved to Port Stephens for some quiet country life. Bought a house on a small block of land that wouldn't be too much for me to maintain in my senior years and the back garden faces north so gets sun all day winter and summer - beautiful in winter as it lets the sun in the house on that side too, but almost unliveable in summer.

House had been leased all its life so I literally had a blank canvas - after I'd levelled the craters the tenant's dog had created - I needed privacy from neighbours but didn't want a lot of maintenance, including no lawns to mow, so I've used low maintenance shrubs growing to about 2m around the perimeter and 4 crepe myrtles in the centre area for shade to sit under in summer while allowing full sun in winter. Just waiting for everything to grow now, but thanks to Covid and lockdowns, I've had plenty of time to garden.

Thanks for the update Rog, I hope everyone is staying safe and well.

I just realised how old this thread is. Nice to see it's an update and not just another random spammer.

Great job Rog. It's a much bigger space and much more useable.

Hi Olldroo. I remember enjoying your posts and it's good to see you back. Your new garden sounds lovely.

Hi Macyjean, I've missed the conversations too. I can't tell you how frustrating it was to just "fall off" the site and not be able to do a thing about it.

Garden is still a work in progress, like all gardens, totally renovated the house too, have to get round to posting some photos, have heaps, I just need to get them all organised.

Did you check out Rog's house - link above. Fantastic reno.

Great yard. Thanks for coming back and posting updates. It’s lovely to see how it turned out.

Thanks Olldroo for directing me to the link.