Look out for 'The Alice', soon to be aired on the 9 Network. It is the story of several people heading to Alice Springs to witness a solar eclipse. One of the lead roles is played by this week's celebrity gardener, Simon Burke. Many viewers will know Simon through his involvement with Playschool, but he was also a familiar face on other popular Australian dramas including Water Rats, GP and Murder Call.

Don caught up with Simon at his warehouse apartment in Sydney. It features a garden designed by his good friend, Paul Bangay. Paul removed 25% of the roof, added a cement floor, realigned and rendered the feature wall and then designed a garden for the new space. Don was particularly impressed by the beautiful magnolias (Magnolia 'Little Gem') espaliered against the wall. 'Little Gem' is a dwarf variety of the evergreen or Bull Bay magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora). It grows to around 4-8m in height and has glossy leaves with a rusty reverse and creamy white, perfumed flowers in spring and summer.

Further information

Simon’s garden was designed Paul Bangay.

'The Alice' can be seen on Channel Nine on Sunday, August 1 at 8.30pm.

Copyright CTC Productions 2004