White-tail spider in my track suit pants WHICH I WAS WEARING! I thought it was a lump of lint from the laundry, drew it out, and promptly flung it across the room once I realised... never to be seen again! How it didn't bite me and sat still to be picked up, I don't know - it must have known I wouldn't do it any harm. We lived in lots of country places, too... We were invaded by small black crickets one year, and lady bugs, another year, in your drawers, in your hair, in your pantry, in your undies... everywhere! And then the blue tongue lizard that would go in and out with our dogs via doggie door, and made itself a nest in our laundry... I gave up and left some old towels for it. Had an echidna get up into the wheel well of our car... wild brumbies in our patio... the list goes on. My husband still says that the most unwelcome visitor was his mother... I like her better than he does!

Don't plant the giant bird of paradise in this small bed. Fantastic plants and have used them at our house. They will grow so big and destroy your paving. I have also used clumping bamboo and my wife hates it due to the mess it makes. Constantly dropping leave etc. Would not plant near a pool for this reason. Another negative comment. Bougainvillea should never be planted in the ground. Lovely flowers but get our of control, dangerous spines and almost impossible to kill. Keep in a pot and keep trimmed. We put Xanadus next to our pool at our holiday house. Perfect size and clean. Consider other ways to hid the fence. Perhaps some type of bamboo screening??

Wow one day I'd love the budget to just say..."I would like this, this and this, and get rid of that and that"..and have it turn out as beautifully as this space. Well done!

Hi there, I personally don't like the look of that rock wall with your home. It does nothing for it. I would get rid of it, you may even be able to sell the rock for a bit of cash. I would besser block a retaining wall in its place with posts and render this, then use your timber horizontally slated between the posts. Select a paint colour that works nice with your timber colour and carry the colour through to your house. This will also work in with your side timber fence. Also remove all the plants in the front, just because they are lovely doesn't mean they are in the right place or serve a purpose, you may be able to transplant them somewhere else in the yard. Plants: mop tops are a great feature tree and give lots of shade in summer. A hedge along the inside of the fence would look great, Lilly pilly's are good and Japanese box is tough as boots and requires little water once up a bit. Westringia, birds of paradise, hibiscus, viburnum, Murraya all take heat, depends on what look your after. My average temps in summer are 47 degrees and winter -3 & these plants survive. Yes I also agree with a path from the front to the door. Front door to house could have some timber posts added with an awning/patio to make it stand out. The timber would carry through from the front fence. Painting the brick can also give it a lift if you don't want to go modern with render. You could also paint the concrete driveway, there are some snazzy options available for this, plain or stencil. Best of luck! I'm sure it will come up a treat.