paint all the fence in the same dark colour (like Colorbond Woodland Grey) depending on sun access for the passionfruit consider a narrow hedge of pittosporums or lily pilly and/or a low grower like purple fountain grass or liriopes but make sure you prepare the soil first and, subject to local water restrictions, pressure wash the driveway to freshen up the concrete

I would stick with the fruit theme and plant three davidson plum trees. They are a native fruit tree with a tall slender trunk, no lateral branches to get in the way and resemble a paw paw tree somewhat. But the fruit is absolutely delicious and makes the best sauces, jam and cordial. It's big with chefs for it's tart flavour that works so well with meat like beef. If you're a fan of rosella jam or cordial then this is our native version. Full sun will be perfect. Since the trunks are bare I would underplant them with Gold Nugget native frangipani. in most forms it's a large tree, but gold nugget is a bush version that grows 1 meter high and is covered in fragrant blooms in spring. Perfect for your climate.

Want a different fruit? Try Grumichama, a tropical cherry-like fruit that grows on very small bushes with deep green glossy leaves. The fruit is amazing, the tree looks very ornamental and it takes pruning while providing plump deep red cherries in summer. Excellent table fruit and the closest thing you will grow to a true cherry in Qld.

Thank you both so much, brilliant ideas. I really appreciate it!

On top of those suggestions, including the painted fence. You could espalier those suggestions and put some low/ground type colourful plants at the base.

To add a complimentary colour at the base of the fence, a row of 'Nandina' plants would tidy the area up and give a welcoming warm feel as you drive up your drive. Nandina has variagated leaves from green to rust red and has small red berries on it that the little birds love. You will need to put in some more soil to raise the bed slightly and some mulch. You will also need to put a board along the back against the fence to stop the soil from falling through.

By planting a row it will create a small hedge to the height of 80cm and this will allow you to reach with ease to pick your Passionfruit. Also when you plant put a few slow release fertiliser tablets which will last about two years to get the plants established and the passionfruit will also benefit from it.

regards,

Karen

Interior designer colour specialists.

You could train your passion fruit up along fence then plant a border of Xanadu, or a mixed tropical border, or the elegant rhapis palm so much to choose from in the tropical plant range, could look stunning.

I would try a low growing heliconia. They grow by tuber and are easily cut and spread to fill the area. I would plant a different variety of passion fruit or a climber to cover the fence.

I agree with weedmat and riverstones or a nice pebble, only I would also put either some intermittent succulents, or mother-in-laws tongue or other architectural plant or element.

Not sure, but I think that painting the fence could be toxic given you already have a fruiting vine on it. An alternative option would be to attach some rush matt or bamboo fencing like this Bamboo fencing.

For a similar space I planted allysium, and you can purchase the seeds at any Bunnings and even cheap shops for about two dollars. I live in Brisbane and it flourished, not sure how far north you are though (we are only subtropical here). Another advantage of using allysium is that insects love it, which is good for your lovely passionfruit. Maybe you could also put a second passionfruit vine at the front of the fence to share the love back with your neighbour.

Good luck, let us know what you decide to do!

STAR JASMINE - If you want a fragrant, fast-growing vine with pretty white flowers - it will climb the fence and come out a bit on the ground too for ground cover. I planted it in a similar location and the neighbors and I LOVE it - for privacy, fragrance, and beauty. You may want to ask your neighbors if it is oK since it will poke thought both sides ) although you could trim back their side if needed. No spike on the vines so an easy trim job.

Have you thought about a concrete stencil for the driveway itself? could look fabulous!

I'd paint the fence, re-train the passionfruit so it looks less 'scrappy', clean the driveway, then put down weed mat and pavers or slate. I had riverstone once - never again. All the leaves etc gets trapped in it and you end up weeding or spraying the stones. You could concrete it yourself? Mark out 'pavers' with the boxing,paint the boxing the same colour as the fence and leave it in there ( I have an area of that myself to make my driveway a little bigger - can supply a photo if you want). You'd need treated timber of course. Plants in pots perhaps? Get some crystal rain -it absorbs water like you wouldn't believe, so less watering required. Then you can swap out plants whenever you want.

Hi Rhiannondooley,

I'd plant IXORA in a hedge so it is minimal maintenance. It loves the heat and you often see it around Queensland resorts for it's visual impact and low-ish growth habit. It comes in colours ranging from light yellow through all the corals and oranges to red and several different growth forms. Make sure you chose the right one for the space you have. It would be a great companion to the vine above as you don't want to plant anything that would shadow the passionfruit, both for yourself or your kind neighbour. They might get upset if you plant something that grows too high. Ixora just needs trimming once or twice a year when it gets to the size you want it. When it is young, just trim the long gangly growth to keep it dense and in shape. Use large pebbles as ground cover and weed suppressant , not weedmat and make sure you prepare the soil well before you plant.

I'd water blast and paint the fence. Be gentle near the passionfruit for both procedures. Waterblast the driveway at the same time and if the budget extends to it, use a driveway paving paint with 'grit' in it so it is not slippery, if you want. I'd leave it bare and just clean it every couple of years.

Have fun,

Christine.

Clean the fence and driveway. Plant soft, low growing plants: spider lilies, liriope, rhoeo or bromeliads (full sun broms with no spikes - the common scarlet flowering one could be nice), dwarf frangipani, pentas, elephants ears. Also on the food front: taro, ceylon spinach, sweet potato (nice lime green leaves) ... just depends how much work you want to do to harvest/keep these contained. All the above plants will also grow in decorative pots.

I’d paint the fence in a dark colour. Slate blue or grey. Personally, I’d leave the passion fruit vine that’s growing through from your neighbour’s. It obviously loves it there, it’s evergreen, will grow quickly and before you know it you will have a wall of green. What’s not to love about that. If you want to cover the fence more quickly, buy another passionfruit vine to grow on your side too. Then, I’d plant a low growing plant with white accents that runs the full length of the fence. If you’re not sure of what to plant, take a photo and ask your local nursery for some advice. Finally, I’d definitely clean the driveway with one of those water jet sprays and paint it in a dark colour too. It will contrast nicely with the white accented plants and the green of the passionfruit vine. Good luck
Ps With the neighbour’s passionfruit vine growing on your side , how would you be able to plant something different when you share the same fence? If you removed what’s on your side and planted something else, eventually your neighbours vine would be growing through and over whatever you planted anyway.

I wouldn't worry about painting the fence.... just plant and hide it. It's a narrow space so I think you need something dramatic and a feature of its own. How about a row of heliconia, or even ornamental gingers? I would then plant an understory of mondo grass and add a few bromeliads in pots in front to pull the bed forward and soften the edge of the paving.

Lots of good ideas. I suppose I would consider power washing the fence and either painting it black or staining it to look like merbau and plant two layers of plants that you can propagate from so you only need a few to start off. Would avoid anything to tall or that doesn’t like being cut back as keeping things off the path can achieve better access.. good luck.

Oh yes Michell staining it is a great idea... with one of those products that restores the wood a bit. It would protect the fence and make it last longer. Tall tropicals are great because the can handle being lopped back

Just a word to the wise ... be aware that heliconias, gingers and other tuberous plants will spread to your neighbours side of the fence, in the ground. You will need to be vigilant to control their spread. : )

Yes beware of clumping plants that send up suckers. Once installed in the garden they are almost impossible to remove and they gradually take over. Someone planted a clumping ornamental grass in my yard which I incidentally hate. Getting rid of it though will be more costly and time consuming than I ever imagined. No doubt the original planter thought it was fine because it was clumping rather than running. Well...the clumps just spread out larger over time. It was planted on a fence line and is currently pushing over the fence. Bad, bad idea all round.

Id consider small or medium natives that provide food for bees, butterfly’s or birds. As they really need it.

I have noticed that your post has been on here for a while and I am a bit curious and I hope it is not too rude to ask, if you had any updates of your garden or any photos to show.

Hi instead of focusing on planting, I would suggest you focus on replacing the driveway with paving or stencil finish then build a new fence or screens in front of the old fence. This will give you a lasting background for any planting and reduce the maintenance of planting for this area. Plants are high maintence if you want to improve this area. If you do install new plants , make sure you replace all the soil with healthy soil and install a solid edging to the garden. Passionfruit vines need cutting back each year by at least 50% so it isn't a good screening plant.

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I would suggest you spend an afternoon cleaning away the debris in the garden..and on the driveway...cut back the plants so you can paint the fence...erect some lattice on top of the fence to block out the old house next door...or erect a higher fence...the driveway can't be improved with a power washer..the damage is too old..a light sand blast of the driveway by a contractor will give it a clean newer appearance ..plant low ground cover along the fence...and the odd small shrub...

Have fun cleaning up...make it enjoyable rather than hard work...many lovely gardens have old world charm and old timbers can set a garden off very nicely....if you block out the view the neighbours house..your attention will be directed to a nice assortment of plants ...colours..and aged timber...all the best with that..

1. High pressure cleaner
   So therapeutic

Waterblast fence and concrete driveway. Look at similar properties to decided what to plant as this will tell you what grows easily in your area. Hedging style - all the same, knee height? (Consider sun so you don't need to irrigate). Paint fence black and add a timber capping on top of fence - stain this don't paint. The fence at side of garage - add timber battons over this part of fence - stain the same as capping. (Or this part could have a metal cut patterned tresslis as a feature and /or large feature pot). If you have stones instead of plantings along fence line you will be forever cleaning up leaves that get stuck between stones.

For more impact and more work along fence line, you could have wires crossed and grow eg star jasmine or smilar. (May not be suitable in your climate). Don't forget to repaint garage door and surrounds. Had fun!

paint the fence in black or dark chocolate colour.. and plant creepers vine

Get rid of the fence. Get a flower bush that can grow to the height of the fence. It’s not a lot of maintenance and would look beautiful

Boooo

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I am with Lauriekate: clean the concrete; paint the fence a mutually agreed colour (hopefully to match your garage); mulch the strip under the passionfruit vine with lovely rounded river stones. There would be little maintenance; you could use a high pressure hose to clean up a couple of times a year; there is reduced danger of slipping over as you get out of the car.

Love to see the final photos.

You could try Wet & Forget on the driveway. You can buy it ready to use and attach it to a hose or buy a bottle that you dilute to use in a sprayer. I have used it and it works - slower than water blasting but it won’t damage driveway if it has some damage? I can’t quite tell from photo if that’s grass clippings/mulch or broken concrete on driveway? If you use it be careful not to spray garden bed. I live in FNQ and we planted seaside daisy - doesn’t need watering but it also won’t die from our wet season. It’s a ground over and spreads out beautifully in a courtyard area that’s get a lot of sun. Just needs a trim from time to time. I see you have Rio (purple green ground cover) which you could separate and plant down the path but it does like water. Maybe for the fence you could try attaching lattice to it and plant another passion fruit vine to help cover the whole fence. It does look like you need to get rid of some woody parts of the passion fruit. It’s a tough plant and will enjoy a bit of pruning. We had one that I thought had died last year and it has returned with no help from me. Be careful with the heliconias and gingers ... they can get out of control if you don’t stay on top of them. Anything tall will cover your fence but it will also cover the passionfruit vine which obviously loves the spot it’s in. Good luck!

for a cheap and easy Edna Walling version. do just that, tidy it, dont take away just add nutrients and seeds. painted fences always need repainting. . so leave as is. foster that vine, fertilize it and grow something weedy and easy below. flowers, try pelergoniums or cariopsis, with a spillover border of seaside daisy. Edibles, try pumpkin or potatoes. For the forever solution, take a bushwalk nearby and pick up seeds and plant them. . . . eucalypts or somesuch. Cheap, easy, endemic and super easy beautiful. Ms Walling, Australia's best landscape designer would let me u move in to Bickleigh Vale after that.

Hi A dividing fence is always a privacy screen and the original owner of your house put that one up a long time ago. The timber slats should fit butt to butt and yours also have posts from another material. So i think this fence may have rotted or been eaten and you may need a new one before you do any planting work. If you use a water blaster the fence may fall to bits as i think it will be over 50 years old i could be wrong but wouldnt like you to spend money and then it needs replacing

i dont think she needed those items for a dividing fence