Hi Tracy,

If you went for decking your $5000 would be used very quickly and not leave you room for anything else. The big costs in landscaping are built elements such as walls, decks and pavement. But it is often the planting that provides the real wow factor.

I would look at your pavement as it is and consider if it needs to be replaced. Possibly all it needs to clean it up is a more structured edge. You could try using rocks for a natural look, timber sleepers, or even rusted metal edging. Then you can invest in some larger advanced trees or shrubs and then plant a mass of native grasses. It looks like you already have one great Grass-tree. You could get another 1 or 2 and plant them together in a feature rockery.

Painting the fence would be good. Paint it in a darker muted colour so that it recedes behind the planting.

Good luck!

Looking as a potential buyer I would say paint the fence to the left a grey. Then fill the gap in the garden on the left. You could pressure wash your pavers to brighten them up and I would paint the table and chair setting and the chair on the right in nice bright colours. A nice bright new umbrella would add to pops of colour.

What about a little gazebo/rotunda set-up where the path leads to? Then you've got some cover for your chairs as well, and it invites people (and the eye) down into the garden. I am sure you can get fairly cheap ones at places like Bunnings.

If the paving is in good condition then I would not change that at all. I would suggest continually sweeping up the fallen leaves when the house is on the market. Perhaps get an tree specialist in to see if they can thin the gum trees out a bit - hence less leaf drop but established trees are in my mind a bonus so don't do any drastic chopping down. Ask your garden centre what plants will grow under the gum trees and put in a few new plants - get some fresh spots of colour when the house is on the market and just keep it cleaned. I don't think you need to spend much money. Yes perhaps painting the fence a dark colour that blends into the back ground could be a good idea.

As you are going to sell the property, don't overspend, as the new owners will have their own ideas. You just want to make the property look presentable.

Painting the fence makes a huge difference. My fence is charcoal, which is a great background colour to show off the plants. I would leave the paving and just tidy up the garden by adding some plants with colour. However I would stick to native plants as they are almost maintenance free, just need a trim from time to time.

The only spend would be on paint (which is cheap) and a few extra plants. Total cost would be under $500. Save the other $4,500 towards your new home.

Continue the rustic-Australian theme:

• More palings (lapped) for the back fence. Very dark paint- olive or grey. Also paint pergola.

• Don't forget drainage- slotted ag-pipe through the garden beds, or soak-wells.

• Extensive retic.

• Some hard-wired lighting (not spotlights).

• A built-in BBQ would be nice (but may be $$$), integrated into the garden bed structure. Electrical power would be nice.

• Raised garden beds using dark timber sleepers. High enough for seating.

• Fresh soil to raise the levels.

• Native plants, grasses. Something with pops of colour (leaves and/or flowers).

• 100mm of mulch.

• Recycled red-brick paving, sealed.

My two cents worth:

* You could try to stain the pavers (not paint). You may need to test and oil based stain on the under side, but would cost a fraction of replacing them.

* Remove the pine edging and replace with volcanic rocks. Choose large rocks and clump them rather than line the whole garden bed. If some mulch falls on the paving sweep it up - your sale process will only be for 4-5 weeks. You can do it!

* Fill gaps with strappy plants such as poa and lomandra (small leafed varieties) as previously suggested. Place something with height towards the fence - a mature grevillea or similar.

* Paint fence a charcol grey if you need to - it will disappear behind plants and not be the feature.

* Colourful piece of art - sculpture, mosaic'd bird bath, something rusty or similar as a feature would be great. Place it in various positions until you love it.

on top of the other comments made - do some judicious pruning of the existing bushes and trees - particularly the larger one at the rear on the left. Making bushes and trees more compact by removing stragglers and "outliers" makes for a much neater appearance - and the total cost is a pair of pruning clippers and possibly a saw. investing in a bunnings blower/vac may also be worth while re cleaning up leaves before each home open.

Legally you can trim branches overhanging from your neighbours property onto your property - but not past your boundary. any sawn off limbs do remain the property of your neighbour. Probably not a good idea to throw it back over the fence however as it may engender ill feeling. without seeing the overhanging branches - I am not saying you should chop it all down - but perhaps some removal of excess branches to reduce the amount of leaves falling onto your property.

Remove all weeds, consider adding 2-3 large rocks into the garden areas - part buried to make them look as if they are natural rocks jutting out.

make sure you have something to hang your garden hose on - neat and tidy is the name of the game. and make sure all your garden tools, fertilisers, etc.. are out of sight. The trick is to create the subconscious impression that the gardens are maintenance free.

A lot of little things add up to a big difference. removing all cobwebs is a big plus. no one will notice the lack of cobwebs - but their presence is another story. clean/replace any corroded taps, remove any fly poo that is visible, is your roof visible? if so, clean it - get the leaves off. Chimney? repaint.

polishing wood inside, cleaning windows, replacing dead or dirty light bulbs, replacing tired lampshades...etc. think of it as rejuvenation rather than renovation.

make sure gutters are clean - they may need a paint or part replacing if corroded. same with downpipes. clean all accumulated dust.

Repaint the low brick wall on the left under the fence - a nice fresh white - make it all "shine".

I used to do landscaping/gardening - with a particular focus on helping people prepare their homes for presentation when they wished to sell. A bit of elbow grease goes a long way to bringing in the offers.

fresh dark mulch can really improve a garden - ask your garden supplier which one will fade the least. Don't get anything too fine as the wind can blow it around. spend the time to first dig any edges down at least 75 mm before putting the fresh mulch on so that sand doesn't come through. think about how much preparation you want to do before each home open though. If you put down black mulch - there will be a lot of work getting leaves off it each week, otherwise it would be best to not go down that route. Ants? if so - get the ant powder out. otherwise they bring sand up and mess up the nice dark mulch.

and... clean those windows again.

best of luck

I would leave the area alone. Keep the paths tidy with a leaf rake prior to opens. Spending money could be a waste as the buyer may not like what you do. It's either total overhaul which will exceed your budget, or leave as is.

I don't mind what you have, but tidy the garden prior to opens.

Good luck.

Hi everyone, thanks again for all of your ideas. I thought you might like an update.
So far I have: started pruning and pulling out old plants, started painting the fence, built a new feature bird bath, and put in some bench seating along the fence. I also plan on planting out the borders to disguise the old edging and restaining/painting the outdoor furniture.