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Advice needed..... I am not a gardener but am really keen to learn. I live in Murrays Beach-Lake Macquarie. We can only plant natives. We have a lot of leaf drop. The result has been that the layer of pine bark and soil have been raked up over the years and now our irrigation system is showing. I also am keen to populate the area more with colour. I am thinking that the soil will need prepping and we need more soil? to cover the irrigation hoses. I have a strong husband who is willing to be my physical helper 
Also would like to have some privacy from our neighbours (who are beautiful).
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @KarWren. It's sensational to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about improving soil and planting natives.
It certainly looks like you could use a load of bulk soil to bring the level up 50mm or so. Once you've re-established the correct soil height and covered the pipework, you can look at your planting locations. I'd recommend you dig holes two to three times the size of the new plant's root balls and plant them into fresh Native Potting Mix. Here's a handy step-by-step guide: How to plant a tree, shrub or a rose.
We have a wide variety of both flowering natives and those that would make excellent screening plants. I'd recommend you speak with the Nursery team member at your closest store to discuss some native options that would suit your area. I can see you already have some established plants on the border or properties, though they are not doing a great job at screening. If you haven't recently fed them, applying Osmocote for Natives will help them become bushier, offering more privacy.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
Hi @KarWren,
Great to have you join the community. We're looking forward to seeing how you can transform your garden.
In addition to Mitch's helpful advice, I recommend you have a good read of @Adam_W's guide How to plan a garden makeover,
Please don't hesitate to post if you have further questions and do also provide updates of your work along the way.
Thanks,
Jason
