Many thanks chookchook2. This is the front of the house thus far I was thinking of lilly pilly which are trimmed round shape in big black gloss pots on either side of the entrance where the white hand rail is . I have bad allergies , hay fever etc hence j need to stick to Australian natives, hence either lilly pilly or magnolia ( teddy bear ) plants ...

Hey Yes the bottom pic from capris on is spot on! I think timber slat with a surround on every panel is much nicer than screwed into posts.And definitely oiled or stained,nice "house" but a bit warmer would be more "home"...

It is getting a bit dated in the colour scheme , BUT I'd keep it substantially as it is , with that yellowy beige . Grey is trendy , but it doesn't suit the bricks , you shouldn't paint the bricks , and it will be dated in 10 years anyway . The 2 upstairs windows look substantial , because of the shutters , whereas IMO the lower smaller windows looks plain by comparison , so I would add narrow shutters . I can't make out the exact colour of the other shutters , I think it is green , but I'd go a slightly greeny/charcoal , and do all the shutters in that , but I'd also do that downstairs door too -- at least I would if it is white , not glass with net curtains , and I'm not sure which it is ? I'd also do the garage door in that darker greeny/charcoal too , and the gutters . While on that colour scheme , I'd do a wooden fence by the rubbish bins too , and obviously paint/stain in that dark shade too . And carrying on , I'd do the steel gates on the left the same . All the block fences I'd go for an off-white , just to differentiate it from the house . The last bit of painting I'd do is the actual front door , and I'd second HU's bright and happy colours -- bright red or orange or yellow , maybe a modern blue or green . The downstairs door area looks like it is paved right to the door , so I'd do 4 or 5 small low colourful pots , with plants , about where that pillar is a metre or so out from the wall -- basically , the edge of the overhang . I'd get pots in a similar colour to the 'other' ( main ) front door . This slightly colourful line , combined with the darker door , should make the main door that much more obvious . The rest is landscaping obviously , and a letterbox .

there is an old saying something about privacy making good neighbours and making better use of your front yard is a great idea but i would prefer a tall fence with your plants against the fence instead of against the house which makes the front look cluttered...i'm not fond of the block fence (but should be no reason why you could not paint (or preferably clad teh blocks with Colorbond) on your side to match your house and look around the neighbourhood to see what you like the look of for across the front ... maybe a tall steel modern picket fence could be good (but check with council to confirm maximum heights) and the front fence could be back from the front boundary (and/or have in and out sections) to allow for a narrow garden out on the treet side ... the window shutters suggest that the house faces hot sun so consider a vine covered pergola with or without transluscent roof cladding to create some more shelter for the entry and across the front of the house and maybe some paving to create a feeling of a narrow front verandah there's so many photos on HOUZZ for inspiration but make sure you check with council to confirm legal options especially fence height if you build the fence inside your front boundary