Toadstools

Sarah Munday, of Camberwell in Victoria, wrote to ask Don what to do about all the toadstools in her garden. Sarah thinks that the toadstools are poisonous and she is worried that her young brother and sister might eat them.

Don said that as a general rule, leave mushrooms and toadstools alone. It is quite difficult to pick the poisonous toadstools or mushrooms from the non-poisonous ones. Most are poisonous so it is always best to get rid of them, particularly when there are young children around. If you're out in the country, don't pick and eat something that you think is a mushroom unless you are skilled at identifying fungi. Honey-coloured fungi in rows or circles in the lawn could be an indicator of disease, and could mean a tree is dying or has died in that area. In that case you might need to call in an arborist to investigate.

Pipes as pots

Carol Anderson, of West Sunshine in Victoria, saw the recent Burke's Backyard segment on using pipes as pots. Carol's sister and her partner actually built a fence using sewage pipes of varying heights and matching colours. Don was impressed by this fabulous, modern look and noted that all the plants in the pipes are thriving!

Dog kennels

Robyn Marshall-Jung sent Don a photo of the dog kennel built by her husband, Neil. It was built using sandstone to match the house, and has a tiled floor, rendered interior wall, insulation in the roof, sliding windows, trampoline beds and futons. Robyn and Neil's nine dogs (mostly rescued from death row) now live in luxury!

Judith Robinson and Daniel Schilling also wrote to tell Don about their dog kennel. It is actually a miniature house, custom built for their Tenterfield Terriers, Mozzie and Nova!

Letter of the Week

This week's award goes to Sarah Munday of Camberwell in Victoria, for her interesting letter about toadstools. Congratulations Sarah, you win a year's free subscription to the Burke's Backyard Magazine.

Copyright CTC Productions 2004