Markos Dymiotis
Recently on Burke’s Backyard we featured the garden of Greek bachelor, Markos Dymiotis. We’ve had a number of letters from ladies who would love to meet Markos. Thank you to all who took the trouble to write – we will forward the letters on to Markos.
Tough indoor plants
Hannah Reed, of Launching Place in Victoria, asked Don to suggest some cool plants that are tough enough to survive in her school classroom. He recommended the Kentia palm, dracaena, happy plant, aspidistra and fiddle-leaf or banjo fig.
Kentia palm (Howea forsteriana)
The kentia palm has a slender trunk and a graceful crown of dark-green drooping fronds. The trunk can grow 5-15m (15-50′) tall, but in an open position (such as in a garden) rarely grows more than 4m (12′) tall. The kentia palm will withstand quite dark and dry corners of your house, and will tolerate a degree of neglect.
Dracaena (Dracaena marginata)
Known as the red-edge or Madagascar dragon tree, this dracaena has narrow, pointed green leaves with red to purple stripes along the outer edge. It is a slow grower to around 5m (15′) tall. It makes a great, low maintenance accent plant either indoors or outdoors.
Happy plant (Dracaena fragrans ‘Massangeana’)
This popular indoor plant has variegated leaves that sprout from a piece of apparently dead wood. Happy plants are extremely tolerant of harsh conditions and many have survived indoors for more than 20 years.
Happy plants are supposedly called ‘happy’ because they are thought to bring luck to the household. If the plants flower, which sometimes occurs especially with old plants or those grown in warm climates, it is also considered to be a sign of good fortune.
Aspidistra (Aspidistra elatior)
The tough, aspidistra or ‘cast iron plant’ is native to the Eastern Himalayas, Taiwan, China and Japan. It has dark green, leathery leaves. It can tolerate neglect, heat, cold, drought and low light. The aspidistra was a favourite indoor plant in the Victorian era, along with the Kentia palm.
Fiddle-leaf fig (Ficus lyrata)
The fiddle-leaf or banjo fig has large, glossy, tropical looking leaves shaped like the base of a violin. It’s hardy, doesn’t drop its leaves and indoors it is virtually unkillable. It tends to grow long stems up to the ceiling which can look a bit gangly, but they can be pruned if necessary. The fiddle-leaf fig makes a wonderful indoor accent plant.
Dog kennels
We’ve had a huge number of people writing in about their wonderful dog kennels.
Debbie Fisher of Gladstone in Queensland wrote to say that her husband, Brian, has built a replica of the Ettamogah Pub as a kennel for their Maltese, Murphy. The replica is complete with stairs, water tank, truck on roof, lights and cartoon characters drawn on internal walls.
Richard Regter, from Woodside in South Australia, built a dog house when his daughter announced that she had put her name down for a Great Dane puppy. Richard says that ‘Bronston’ loves his kennel, and Olivia has a full-time job cleaning the bay window.
Debbie and Eric Pearce explained that their dog Pixie lives inside, so the whole house is her kennel. However, Eric has made her a special four-poster bed complete with jeweled drapery and her own electric blanket. Pixie is a Chinese Crested, so she gets a bit cold in winter without any hair.
Don announced that since the standard of all the dog kennels is so high, he will arrange a fabulous prize for the best one.
Letter of the Week
The award for Letter of the Week goes to 12 year-old Hannah Reed, from Launching Place in Victoria. Congratulations Hannah, you’ll receive a year’s free subscription to the Burke’s Backyard Magazine, along with some other Burke’s Backyard goodies.