Global Garden A few years ago theme gardens were very fashionable in Australia. They included cottage gardens, native gardens, succulent gardens, perfumed gardens, white gardens, and more recently, ethnic styles such as Mexican or Tuscan. The latest trend is a blend...
Heather Cant’s Garden Revisit Burke’s Backyard first filmed “Gowan Brae” at Burradoo over four years ago, so we decided it was time to pay Heather Cant another visit. The property is 11/2 acres (0.6ha), and consists of a charming old turn of...
The use of purple foliage in the garden is one of the more difficult things to get right. But it can be a breath of fresh air from the straight green gardens and the key to using purple is to plant more of it. If you only plant one Berberis or Purple Japanese maple in...
We took that classic backyard disaster area, the disused driveway on the side of the house, and transformed it into a tropical jungle fantasy garden complete with ponds, a waterfall, colourful plants, a boardwalk and a suspension bridge. The progression of this...
Westbrook Garden Imagine having to create a garden on a steep, rocky hillside with very little soil, low rainfall and no town water. Against all the odds, Chris Coffey enthusiastically accepted the challenge of landscaping 1.5 hectares (3.5 acres) of land in the...
White Rooftop Garden Don discovered an ultra modern garden and entertainment area on the roof of a Melbourne office building. Jamie Loft, Landscape Designer and Company Director of the garden and pool design business ‘Out From The Blue’, gave Don a guided...
White Wall Makeover Don looked at a classic example of a problem faced by many gardeners: a stark, white wall. The owners had tried to soften the brickwork by planting a select variety of birch tree. Betula nigra (select form) ‘Tropical Birch’ grows...
Melbourne Topiary Don visited the gardens of two expert topiarists, John Mircello and Peter Nguyen. John’s Italian background is evident when you look at his beautiful garden. He has been topiarising plants for around ten years, and spends much of his spare time...
Melbourne Tropical Garden You’d think that having a tropical garden in Melbourne would be impossible, but you can create wonderful tropical feel gardens in the cooler zones of Australia. Garden design The garden features stone tiles, blue coloured river pebbles,...
Merlo’s Garden Jack Merlo is a Melbourne-based landscape designer who is setting a new standard in style for turn of the century Australian suburban landscapes. His work has been described as ‘disciplined yet extremely innovative and appealing’, and...