Hi Nathan - I suggest you use what you have already. if the soil is poor, plant something that likes poor soil like nasturtiums. The leaves and flowers are edible and peppery. Ferns are good in damp areas too. These would have a deep water effect around the deck. Desert plants are lovely with coloured gravel - no spiky ones if you haven't much room. Maybe put down fake lawn so no mowing. Nail up a large mirror to enlarge the view of plants and flowers etc Strong mesh to hold up two vines - clematis, passion flower, mexican glory vine, pandera or a prize-winning table grape trained up the washing line. I did this with an old rotary line so we could sit underneath in the shade and eat grapes :) I would wash the fences very evenly with white or coral lime wash. Cheapish to make. i would experiment with beetroot juice and curry powder (the strongest stain-makers) to get the shade of coral. Cheers Hooley D

Hmm looks vintage! That detail is beautiful. Could you email the old owner of the store?

Strange of the neighbour's builder to paint the side of your house without any instructions or payment. I suspect that the paint may actually have been to cover something up that the builder made. Perhaps they accidentally splashed or spilt paint onto your side facing wall, and they decided that it would be easier to paint it out than clean it up. Possibly hoping that nobody would notice until they had been paid for the job! Dr Retro

Those seem to be trademark varieties from outside Australia. You could contact Daly’s fruit or Diggers Club to see what dwarf varieties there are available in your area.