Well looky here....

Three cheers for something other to look at other than boring colorbond fences!!!  Yes, that's right.  We couldn't help ourselves and bought a few plants.

The garden bed alongside the alfresco is in the shade majority of the day so we chose 3 Dracaena Tricolour plants as a bit of a feature.  They are extremely hardy, slow growing, love sheltered positions and require very little maintenance.  Ticks all the boxes.  I think someone at the Nursery mentioned "thrives on neglect" - SOLD!

Try to picture some small plants to fill in some ground space, dark mulch, bamboo screening to hide the fence etc etc.  This little spot is by no means finished.

 A close up of the colours on the leaves.  The more sun the plant gets, the more the red features.

Next to the barbie is a little spot that came about quite by luck - just the way the retaining wall heights stepped down - and it's the perfect spot for the sculpture my brother & sister in law gave us for our wedding.

I'm in love with the little green / purple decorative plants around it too, called Rhoeo. They're only $2 each from Sydney's Plant Market (best Nursery...seriously!)

And I just had to get a pic of 'B' cooking our first BBQ last Tuesday night...in the rain....

Picked up this fab pot & Dracaena Marginata for inside too.  Has livened up the rather bland corner and ties the inside in with the outside.  My sweet little boy who is 2.5 years old has been quite diligently saying, "Play in dirt outside, not inside."  to anyone who'll listen.  Brainwashing - tick. 

So what's next?  Some Little Gem Magnolia's along the back fence, some Daphne for the garden bed outside the Family Room window (have you ever smelt Daphne flowers? AMAZING!)  and some citrus trees continuing along BBQ fence line (lemon, lime & mandarin). Oh & I haven't forgotten about the vertical herb garden I've wanted all along outside the Dining Room.

One step at a time...  Got to save some more $$$.  Lots more $$$!