Week 12 Front yard and facade reveal

Winner: Rick and Tayla, House 5

“This is my wow moment,” said Judge Dave Franklin. “I love the stonework on the house and the planting selection is on point.”

Rick and Tayla finished the season with a huge win, creating a spectacular front garden and facade that reflected its coastal location.

Father and daughter team Rick and Tayla had a big win with an elegant coastal garden that featured spectacular plant choices and a showstopping water feature.

The impact of the home first hit the judges from afar as they appreciated the colour and texture of the stone cladding, set against large expanses of lawn that led out to the backyard.

“How beautiful does that stonework look?” asked Shaynna Blaze.

“The texture just feels so appropriate for here,” said Darren Palmer.

This was the first space that Rick and Tayla finished all season, and it was a spectacular way to finish. The judges felt that the approach to the house was well designed, with stone steppers leading to timber stairs and then a hand-crafted pond with a Buxus cloud tree (clipped into balls) planted in the centre.

“I love that – that’s so beautiful,” said Darren. Shaynna agreed. “That’s amazing – we’ve never seen anything like this on The Block ever. They saved the best for last.”

The rest of the garden was family friendly with extensive lawns, olive trees and plenty of coastal specimens, along with soft cushion-like plants.

  

Not all products in these images were supplied by Bunnings. These images include various other brands and suppliers that provided product to The Block in 2026.

 

Design tip

Buying topiary ready-made will give you an instant, finished shape. A dense ball or cone takes years to grow. 

House 1: Adam and Jolene

“This is just so pretty – look at the colours,” said Judge Shaynna Blaze. “The trees, the planting … my mind is blown.”

SA couple Adam and Jolene stunned with a garden full of sculptural elements and thoughtful plantings.

In a stressful week, Adam and Jolene created different zones throughout their front garden, including a stunning entrance down timber stairs. The existing outdoor space already had beautiful established gum trees, so the couple worked to complement them and position them as the heroes of the space.

Jolene’s design even included a round steel planter in the atrium of the house, filled with native plants, which won approval from the judges, which again included landscaper Dave Franklin, in place of Marty Fox.

The judges particularly enjoyed the entrance of the house, which included a water feature made of natural basalt, cut by hand, which Shaynna particularly loved. The garden then opened up to planted areas as well as expansive, and family-friendly, lawns.

In the entertaining zone, Adam and Jolene’s bespoke fire pit, outdoor stone table (“That’s so cool,” said Dave Franklin) and coastal landscaping choices won approval, as did the steel arched arbours, raw table, and stone seats.

“It is beautiful,” said Shaynna Blaze. ‘It is so unusual and so sculptural, and everything adds to the environment where we are in Mt Eliza.”

 

Not all products in these images were supplied by Bunnings. These images include various other brands and suppliers that provided product to The Block in 2026.

Design tip

Save money by buying smaller, younger plants, especially if it’s your forever home. They will take longer to establish, but will be much more cost effective.

House 2: Chantel and Wyatt

“This is beyond cool,” said Judge Darren Palmer on seeing the wellness area.

Chantel and Wyatt delivered an elegant front garden, that complemented the stone cladding of their house.

Gold Coast couple Chantel and Wyatt chose a Japanese maple for their atrium area, underplanted with Fatsia, a striking evergreen, also called paperplant. The entrance area featured a large area tiled with easy-to-maintain white tiles, reflecting the couple’s modernist, minimalist style. 

Around the corner from the entrance, the private wellness area was a big hit, with a spectacular outdoor sauna, outdoor shower and rustic bath made from volcanic rock. The area was designed to be private, said Darren Palmer, allowing the homeowners seclusion when enjoying the bath or sauna.

“That is the absolute best place for a sauna on The Block,” he said.

In the entertaining zone, Chantel and Wyatt clad the outdoor fireplace in the same stone used on the outside of the house, which the judges called magnificent. It was accompanied by generous outdoor seating as well as wood storage.  The outdoor planting choices included a spectacular magnolia, along with some natives.

The judges were full of praise for the design choices.

“This is the most interesting and diverse space that Chantel and Wyatt have done on The Block,” said Darren.

  

Not all products in these images were supplied by Bunnings. These images include various other brands and suppliers that provided product to The Block in 2026.

Design tip

A Japanese maple is a popular addition to courtyards. This beautiful, yet compact tree has spectacular autumn foliage and is deciduous, so it lets in sun during winter – plus their roots are non-invasive.

House 3: Lisa and Rosco 

“They’ve got it right. It’s a good family home, it’s a good family yard,” said Judge Darren Palmer.

WA couple Lisa and Rosco created a family-friendly front garden with fun entertaining features and a showstopping shed.

Lisa and Rosco created a fun and relaxed entertaining front garden, with some surprises and a couple of showstoppers.

For their front yard, the couple chose a crushed granite pathway leading to the front door, along with sleeper steps, and a huge lawn area set up with games for children.

The judges loved the olive feature tree in the atrium – “That is a feature tree,” said Darren Palmer – and felt the simplicity of the space was a real plus.

Lisa and Rosco’s secret weapon was their outdoor shed, which contained an Argentinian grill, kegerator (a fridge designed to store, chill, and dispense carbonated beverages) and television. Shaynna Blaze loved it and felt it was a clever addition.

The shed opened to an eight-seater dining table for maximum entertaining value. Upstairs, Lisa and Rosco included a kids picnic table adjacent to the lawn area as a family-friendly touch. 

Dave Franklin called it the most usable garden he saw on the day. “I think the connection from the pool, right to the front gate here – we’ve got this big expanse of lawn, this beautiful million-dollar view – it’s all very captivating,” he said.

 

Not all products in these images were supplied by Bunnings. These images include various other brands and suppliers that provided product to The Block in 2026.

Design tip

Outdoor sheds are both practical and fun. Lisa and Rosco used theirs to hide outdoor cooking appliances, but they are equally useful as a way of storing play equipment, bikes or other kids’ toys.

Courtney and Sev, House 4

“Really sensible to have a parking spot here for this purpose,” said Judge Darren Palmer.

Courtney and Sev were plagued by budget woes, which limited the scope of their garden this week, but still pulled off a clever design with thoughtful elements.

 

Cash-strapped best friends Courtney and Sev just nudged over the finishing line with a budget-conscious garden that displayed some practical decisions.

Divided into two sections, the Brisbane girls decided to keep the lower section of the garden leafy and sub-tropical, while planting the top section with Australian natives.

Courtney and Sev added extra parking in their front yard, designed for a boat or caravan, which won approval from judges Shaynna and Darren, while Dave Franklin felt it would benefit from a tree or hedging around it to soften the space.

Focus of the front yard were the timber arbours that mirrored those included in their winning back garden, creating a whimsical effect. Dave did love the arbours, which he felt were both beautiful and practical because they gave lovely shadow lines and included downlights to shine extra light on the entrance stairs.

The side garden and deck areas won praise, especially the small area just outside the guest suite. Darren Palmer noted that the water tanks would soon be covered in greenery as plants grew, noting the clever trellising frames the girls included.

Not all products in these images were supplied by Bunnings. These images include various other brands and suppliers that provided product to The Block in 2026.

Design tip

Additional parking is always a plus when it can be arranged – whether it’s for visitors, additional cars or even a boat. It can even add to a house’s market value.