Yes! Why not! I'm more than "a tad" older than you and can see all the inappropriate plantings here and wish I'd not been so adamant, stubborn and even enthisiastic and passionate back then. I'd like to imagine you 20 years from now enjoying the beautiful fragrance of your plantings and not having to remember, looking at your aged, sore and tired hands, how hard was the task of taming and imprisoning the devil in lilac! There comes a time when even one's passion becomes a chore...Nobody is exempt. My hands are crippled with arthritis. I cannot get a grip on my brushes, thus the hard work has deprived me of a pleasure and a passion....that is the way it is for many so I hope you are immune. Unfortunately ageing is what the body once strong and virile does and it has no mean influence on that part of a creative person's life. I will imagine you 20 yrs from now, sitting peacefully and enjoying the tenacity of your younger days...not wishing you had done anything differently!

Great choice with the Travertine, my joey just renovated her pool area with it and it looks amazing. I agree with Jenny Torrisi that glass in the archways would make a huge difference. Synthetic turf would be one idea for the courtyard, but it does have to be properly laid. Otherwise if you could extend the Travertine to that area, it would also look amazing. It would contrast well with the plants you have there, and you could add a cantilevered umbrella and couple of large shiny blue pots would add some colour and extra greenery. My big concern though is with those palm trees - quite frankly I find them useless, they provide very little shade, no greenery at ground level and the fonds drop off them indiscriminately and can cause serious injury if someone is in the wrong place when they drop. Lower growing plants in that area would make a huge difference. There used to be a market for established palm trees, not sure if it still applies. As far as the brickwork goes, dark coloured bricks absorb heat, which would make your pool area very hot and the solid walls would do nothing to allow breezes to circulate. I am really anti painting or rendering bricks as that means ongoing maintenance, but would the budget run to cladding the fence at least in a light coloured timber, I think it would give it a more modern look and appear cooler. There is definitely no room for plants, even in pots, but if you are artistic or know anyone who is, you could also attach a waterproof sheeting to one wall and paint a tropical style mural on it. https://www.google.com.au/search?q=tropical+external+wall+murals&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjns-ih0IHQAhVGjZQKHdBHAnkQsAQIQw&biw=1366&bih=638

We have a large frangipani tree that needs to be moved due to the e tension but my concern with relocating the frangipani tree there would be the lack of sunlight. Another idea was to scrap the feature tree & replace it with a fern tree & make it lush with shade loving plants. Attached is another pic with a different design idea. Thoughts ?..

Hi Chris The cheapest option is Grind & Seal, but we usually recommend Mechanically Polished Concrete for inside of a home. This is by far a better option, if you were to go for a Matte or Satin finish it is less expensive than a higher gloss finish. Mechanically Polished Concrete does not have a top coat sealer requiring drying and curing time and does not need re-applying in the future which will save time and money in the long run. Because Polished Concrete does not require drying or curing time it can be used as soon as the process is completed unlike the Grind & Seal option. All floors are slippery when wet, a non slip agent can be added to a top coat sealer which would be the Grind & Seal method which we do apply in a shower area if there is not a shower base. Polished Concrete in Matte and Satin finish does have a very good slip rating, has no grout lines as with tiled floors where dust can get trapped therefore it is a wonderful easy to clean flooring solution. Hope this helps, I have provided some details regarding the 2 main processes below There are 2 different finishing processes / methods that are commonly called Polished Concrete, they are very different so it is important that you know the difference & which process/method you want and which is being used on your concrete Polished Concrete - 12 to 17+ step process During this process the concrete is ground to the desired level of stone exposure. After grinding the concrete surface, the Polished Concrete process begins. This process has a densifier applied in multiple stages that is absorbed into the concrete which hardens and strengthens the concrete. A Polished Concrete Floor is Polished in Multiple stages in a Refining Process using diamond tooling & resin pads. A penetrating sealer is applied in the final buffing stage to complete the process The "Polished Concrete" process has "NO TOP COAT SEALER" applied therefore there is no drying or curing time required so your space can be used as soon as the process is completed Grind & Seal (a 3 to 4 step process) This is NOT Polished Concrete. Grind & Seal is often referred to as Polished Concrete, this is the cheaper substitute that gives a "Polished Concrete Look" With the Grind & Seal method the concrete is ground to the desired level of stone exposure and a TOP Coat Sealer is applied such as water based, solvent based, urethane, acrylic or epoxy requiring 5-7 days to dry & cure