Great ideas dreamer,a dark colour fence highlights plants beautifully, you could always have a feature to look out on using screens , you could add a vertical garden , standard bay trees either side would look gorgeous, even a small water feature bowl , you can get them in terracotta would look beautiful.

Get rid of this immediately. This will compromise your brickwork, foundations and invade your sewer lines causing severe and costly damage. Rubber trees make excellent potplants but grow quickly and to enormous size in the ground.

It depends on the trees really and how much root disturbance they will suffer while building. Certainly plant trees that are away from the house now. perhaps if you want fruit trees plan an orchard away from the house site and plant it now as it can take 5 years before you get some fruit. You could have faster trees closer to the house and plant later. But you can buy advanced trees. Perhaps start by integrating the landscape design into the house design phase and see what you come up with? Depends what trees you like. I think designing the garden and house together can really help you figure out these sorts of things and decide what to do when. I have planted birch trees that grow fast from bare root saplings that I mail ordered. I payed $5 each, they are now less than a year later the size that would have cost $100 each. so it also depends on budget and savings. I have also planted garden around the house that is... shall we say temporary, that is they can handle being uprooted and moved later. things like bulbs and tropicals like ginger and tumeric and canna. even the jasmine. some plants can handle being cut back and trashed and will just come back, we demolished a set of stairs on top of the garden and its all come back. I have a lot of foliage plants grown from cutting, stuff that spreads and divides. they don't mind being disturbed and in fact thrive being occasionally dug up and divided. As the reno unfolds the garden can evolve. I have a lot of bromeliads and shallow rooted plants like frangipani that can be moved too. You can also bury trees in large grow bags or pots so they are flush with the ground but can be moved as needed.

Hi Kate - Unfortunately, we have had a lot of issues with non-compliance with building regulations and non-compliance with the BCA/NCC, with the property next door (very, very long story) and have had quite a lot of contact with the questionable building surveyor for this site. They have deliberately dropped the landing down to a height that is just below 80cm (as the landing will be just a few metres from our habitable rooms and secluded private open space) while the door itself is over 80cm (this is allowed according to Council and the Victorian Building Authority). Unfortunately, doors are not covered by the current overlooking building regulation (Building Regulation 84) in Victoria, but when this door is opened it looks straight into our open plan living area.