We've used lilly pilly's successfully as hedging plants. They've got beautiful glossy leaves and grow fast. If you're selling and your budget allows it, buy mature ones, you can get them around 1.5-2m tall, plant 2 in each planter box for an immediate hedge or one in each. I think one is enough because it will give the idea of a screen without adding extra costs to you and sometimes the communication of an idea or the intent of an idea is enough for sellers. Hope that helps! Good luck Samantha. Sense of Style Interiors xo

yes, garden is the thing to change here. At the moment, all the plants all small, hugging the ground. Think about some trees or shrubs that will extend to roof-height, and then some smaller shrubs that will extend to about the size of the person, and then some others about waist-high, as well as littlies down on the ground. So . . . what do you like, what reflects your personality, and where are you? A lush tropical look - big leaves, exuberant flowers? A neat, tidy classical garden (roses, lavender, hedges, a couple of pencil pines, a classical scupture or arbour?) A cottagey garden - all sorts of flowers: daisies, violets, irises, maybe a sliver birch or two and flowering plum? A beach/coastal look - start with daisies, proteas and ti-tree? Australian natives - bottle-brushes and grevilleas? Fern forest? Plants to attract birds and animals? Plants not to attract birds and animals? Low maintenance? High maintenance? (You are already have a lot of lawn to take care of, so I'm assuming you probably spend a fair bit of time in the garden). What sort of gardens do you like in the rest of your street and around the neighbourhood? Be bold - knock on the door, say you were admiring the garden and just ask what the plants are! Or just google images of different garden themes and types until you find something you like! Don't worry so much about trying to 'match' the house - once you have a bunch of tall and mid-height plants in, the house won't dominate the scene so much.

Gum trees are provide a stunning canopy to any garden, but as with any large tree close to your home, you need to be mindful of its health and possible future limb failure. Sudden limb failure in Eucalypts is the result of periods of dry weather, impacts on a tree's root zone and subsequent moisture stress. I recommend creating a beautiful native garden in this area with groundcovers and grasses that are suited to the sunlight available. Make sure the area is properly mulched (organic mulch is best) and that you water the area during periods of hot weather. It's also worthwhile having an arborist look at the tree every 12 months of so to make sure it is still healthy.

Such great suggestions from Julie, I think the key with natives is that they're quite sparse, so risk looking ratty and messy very easily. To counteract that, it's important to plant en masse, and only stick to natives (so remove the roses), so cluster say 3 of the same plant together for impact, and repeat with half a dozen types of different shapes/colours/textures/heights. The great pictures Julie has shown such as this one below that I love, show this done really well with mixing texture and colour - spiky, strappy broad leaves (deep green), soft fine leaves (grey green). Then these lower plantings can make your larger trees (existing) look more balanced. Of course, I don't know your location/climate with the suggestions below, so speak to your nursery... Use the existing larger feature trees (not sure whether you want to keep the existing tree in front of the house depending on its shape/proximity to the house), but your bottlebrush etc are great) then arrange the others around each of them to create a couple of nice focal point and more impact. Try westringia, lomandra, native violet, acacia limelight, dianella... Add in a beautiful Gymea Lily as a statement piece too if suitable climatically. And being a corner block it would be nice to plant more along the side/corner to delineate your property a little more nicely. Maybe replace the agapanthus with a row of woolly bush or even water gum (planted further away from the house at the side. It might even be worth getting a landscaper in to help with arranging them, perhaps ask at your local nursery, and then you do all the dirty work - actual marking out, digging and planting yourself.