Timandra knows best, I believe, and has the experience to back her up. My comment is not plant-related, however. You have a front facade of door after door, and nowhere to go, except a narrow horizontal path. How about some front terraces, where you can burst out of one of those front rooms onto a sunny sitting area to have your morning coffee with a neighbor. Why not leave some doors open or change to glass, so the front terrace becomes an outdoor room, and extention of the interior space. How about a pedestrian walk out to the street, or over to the pictured tree, evergreen and plant bed, where you could have a shady terrace. Enjoy the outdoors, don't let your family become nature-deprived, with all the electronics that occupy our kids lives these days. Get them unplugged and outside - you too! You have a wonderful opportunity to achieve great things. Analyze first, then plan.

hi could be over watering, stick your finger in say 5cms if it is moist dont water, only water when you feel the soil is dry , they like to be moist but not wet, the stems seem to be rotting due to being constantly soggy, you could always take problem leaves and stem for advice from a nursery, but I would definitely hold back on the water, good luck.

While I like the steel look I always wonder about heat transfer into the soil as I know this is a problem with colorbond raised beds. In summer the soil bakes the plants. Just fine if you have arid plantings but dire if you have a cottage garden. I have a similar dilemna on the north side of my garden. Would love corten but not if it's going to burn everything in the garden bed.

Nandina ‘Blush’ loropetulum ‘plum gorgeous’ Lilly pilly ‘cascade the website bigreader suggested is fabulous for inspiration and information.