John you are fortunate to have such a yard, although the tennis court does aspect as a divider breaking up the space, I think this creates an opportunity to create garden zones or rooms. Intimate garden spaces can be individual enough and still be integrated into a larger footprint. Your garden perhaps may be viewed from different windows, and have different aspects, therefore will have different requiremnts of sun, shelter etc. As the second picture appears to have a shed or structure, and looks more of a utility space, I would obstruct the view from the court, by planting a Boston ivy to cover the fencing, providing a delicate hanging foliage wi ever changing colours of reds and greens. I would do the same on the opposite fencing that overlooks the main lawn area, although I would create a large window effect by clipping or restraining the creeper from a large square in the centre fencing section. Tis will create a room with a view in the foreground, and with effective and clever planting, lighting and design elements, you will create an interesting viewpoint that will direct interest into the yard beyond the court. In the background, the timber fence I would plant your murray a hedge, so the small blooms will soften the look of the fence, paint it a dark colour, like domino by dulux so the foliage stands out against it, and gives an illusion of a deeper boundary. In front of that, centre to your created window in your fencing, place either a sculptural element, in the form of an urn, a formal topiary or statue, perhaps a small water feature with lighting, so it extends the perspective yet again. With the green hedges now creating the walls of your garden room, plant your chosen iceberg roses in front of that, and some informal plantings below. I suggest a bench to watch a match or two, and utilize the other garden Rea to house things such as your patio furniture. Garden rooms don't necessarily make a space smaller, rather they may invite you to meander through garden rooms with beautiful elements and relaxing places to sit. I would also like the look of manchurian pear trees along the fencing if you don't like the idea of a creeper.

We have star jasmine out front covering a trellis. Also in Victoria with clay soil. It has grown well in just over 2 years. We have 2 plants covering a little over 2m wide span (maybe 1.3m tall?) Just encourage it to grow out sideways and not always up to give a nice dense coverage from low down. It doesn't flower for very long each year but if healthy then the foliage is attractive. Sorry about odd shaped photo but needed to crop it to just show the plant ;) previous experience with ornamental grape was that it was hardy and could come back from harsh treatment. It really does have a bare look for a large portion of the year though. Great for over a pergola but not so much for disguising a fence/neighbours.

Hi JE C, Most of the neat spheres you see in garden photos are shrubs that are pruned into neat ball shapes, rather than growing naturally as spheres. There are a few, however, that grow into neat ball shapes without too much pruning: try Pittosporum 'Golf Ball' or 'Hole in One'. I think the native gray-green shrubs you're thinking of are Westringia (coastal rosemary) - these don't grow naturally into any particular shape but you can easily clip them into spheres and they're very forgiving as they grow back rapidly.

Your site is far too exposed for Maples. They are small trees that really need to be buffered from winds and too much sun by other plantings. They also need the soil constantly moist which will be nearly impossible on that slope. You really don't want to grow magnolias anywhere near the footings of a house. Have you seen how large a tree they are? Since you are in a temperate zone and like autumn foliage I can recommend a gingko tree. It will be right sized for your yard and give you that similar lighter than air look and autumn colour as maples but it's more hardy. Another option are silver birches. I would hedge the boundary for privacy and also to cut down winds to your garden which will dry out the grass and scorch it. With that slope you are going to need more rocks I think to prevent your topsoil from washing away in the first rain. It's really no use of us to provide you a list of random plants. What you need to do is put together a series of photo's of gardens you like the look of, then find plants to match that style. If you don't plan gardens then you end up with the ubiquitous suburban patch of grass and odd bushes look instead of a lovely garden.