I like all the garden ideas ( it does look a bit sparse and 'rental property' look about it IMO ) , with a low fence along the front , a wooden screen a couple of metres in front of the door , etc , BUT when I looked at the very first photo -- the wider angle one -- the one thing you notice first is the yellow marker post on the left hand side of the driveway fence . So take that as a cue , and paint the garage door a bright colour to stand out -- primary or metallic or trendy , just one that you like , and personally I'd probably change the curtains ( or even dye them ) to the same colour as the garage door . Right now , everything is various derivatives of off-white and red brown earth brick -- needs a decent spot of colour to lift the houses look IMO . Another option would be 'natural' timber blinds , especially if you had them the same shade of stain as the screen and the front fence , but I'd still do the garage door ( and maybe the guttering ) your current favourite colour .

The house is meant to be striking and modern, so softening will confuse the design and lose impact. A south facing wall will always give problems with moss. A pressure washer will generally take care of this although be careful too strong a pressure could cause damage. Otherwise there are products on the market now to apply to hard surfaces that deter the growth of moss on outdoor surfaces and this may be a better alternative in the long term. Check your local paint shop. Vines that produce suckers to attach to walls can leave permanent marks and be impossible to totally remove. Your south facing wall will limit what you can grow too.

Judy, do you know if the stepped facade on the art-deco extension is hiding a roof gable or is it purely decorative? If it is only decorative (and heritage regulations allow) I would remove those top 2 courses to make it a simpler box shape. Not essential, but in my opinion that stepped gable is not very attractive, and makes it look more like a public building than a residence. This would simplify and give it more of a modern look, but still be genuine art-deco. The house is already a combination of different eras, so adding a bit of a modern touch will not detract and is more honest when you are renovating anyhow. I would paint the driveway terra-cotta to match the tiles, garage door green to match the roof and change the cladding on the garage front wall to flat fibre-cement panel rendered and built up to a straight line parapet on the front. Paint all walls white, including the rendered panel over the garage door (IMHO this is the only colour that really works with art-deco). Remove the shutters and paint window frames and other trim the dark charcoal you already have on gutters and other trim. The middle section of the column should be that same colour as the top and bottom for its shape and proportions to read well. I would probably leave the stone paths as they are, as they seem to match the dark surround to your front porch tiles. With the front fence I would remove the wrought iron, then extend the pillars up to 2m and fit batten screens between them. To alleviate the sun-load on the western window after those shutters are gone I would instead plant a screen of high growing vegetation inside the front fence, e.g. a row of bamboo. That would give you a better outlook and still provide sun shading and street privacy.

Help! We need some advice for landscaping ideas near the front of our house and entry way. We have already completed a rock garden edge and put in tropical plants in the raised garden bed near our mail box. We are requiring a garden that allows us to access the chemical termite barrier as we live next to a bit of bushland and termites are active in the area. We are thinking of two large potted golden canes near the entrance where that current large shrub is (shrub will be removed). This is so that when you walk from the mailbox straight through to the front door it provides a bit of privacy from the public walkway that runs parallel to our property. We were thinking of a heliconia either side of the front large window (master bedroom) and surrounded by rocks at the base and maybe some plants to fill it out to hide the pots and rocks a little? We were thinking of rock mulch for the floor. We are also putting in a front fence that will have black/dark gray vertical slats and an electric sliding gate for added privacy. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated to lift up our street appeal.