@islad, you already seem to have a box hedge growing either side of your driveway, not sure how much else you can put in before you start hindering the growth of the small hedge. You also don't say where you live so that makes the suggestion impossible, if for example you live in Darwin and I suggest a tree for Victoria. However, best suggestion is to go to a reputable nursery in your area, explain the size of the area you have available and exactly what it is you want to achieve. Your local nursery is your best friend. You will need to do a bit of work with the soil too after pulling out such large trees before replanting as the soil will be poor. Would love to know what is suggested for you. Cheers, Barbara

I'm not a fan of Monument and Surfmist as a colour scheme, I find it too stark. That said, colour is a personal choice and it is your home so find something that you love and that gives you that 'wow, that's our home' moment every time you pull into your driveway. There is a free app called paint tester which you can upload a pic of your home into and 'paint' different sections different colours which you might find helpful.

It always makes my heart sink when a client asks for a "no-maintenance" garden. It tells me they really don't care. In truth, any planting needs a certain amount of care. Plants, like animals, need care. It's true that they're slower than animals to respond to deprivation, but respond they do. And it's not a good look. You might not have a lot of time, or you may not be physically up to a lot of gardening. That's fine - you can choose plants that require a minimum of care and grooming, and if need be hire somebody to do that minimum. But it does require planning. A gardener actively engaged with their garden can (and will!) experiment, try new things, move plants around, notice when things are going right and wrong, and for them a garden is never finished. Contrast that with somebody who wants a garden they don't want to work in or at. They want a garden that is more or less "finished" the day it is installed, rolled out like a stretch of lawn and meant to "behave", to stay static. I can't do a garden like that! Plants grow! They change, the environment around them can change, and what might have succeeded one year is not going to do it the next. It is entirely usual for a planting that just nicely fits a situation to need complete re-planting a few years on because the individual plants have outgrown the site. That's work! It is entirely usual for plants to flower, and for those flowers to set seed and die off. It is entirely usual for some plants to shed leaves as part of their yearly cycle. This "mess" is treated by non-gardeners as a crisis, as a nasty surprise, as something the plants "shouldn't" do. Because it makes work. Well, sorry, but no garden consultant can change the laws of nature. If you want a garden, you've bought work, and if you don't want to do it, you're going to need to pay somebody else. That's fine. Just don't ask for what you can't have.

No I’m not in Brisbane. Bunnings generally have a limited selection of the more popular natives. Your best best bet will be a local independent nursery. They can order in and give good advice. A lot of native nurseries also sell online and deliver interstate.