In growing Australian cities there is an urgent need to build houses on increasingly smaller blocks of land. As an alternative to using land for high-rise buildings such as flats and units, designers are now looking at other ways of increasing residential densities....
Narrow Space Garden The narrow area at the side of a house can often cause a problem for home owners and can become a neglected part of the garden. Don recently visited a narrow, neglected garden that has been transformed into an oasis of colour and foliage, thanks to...
Paddington Courtyard For those many people living in rental accommodation a garden may seem an impossibility yet one inner-city tenant has found the perfect solution. ‘Burke’s Backyard’ recently went behind the courtyard walls to see what can be done...
Most backyards have an old patch of lawn around the house, worn by years of constant human and pet traffic. Many home-owners solve the problem with a concrete path, but what about a more visually exciting alternative? Roger Apte demonstrated how to lay a stepping...
Rosemary Hedge Qantas Amazing Australia Rosemary is a classic Mediterranean plant requiring little rain through summer and surviving hot conditions. It is also tolerant of alkaline or limestone soils. Rosemary can be grown as an informal shrub or can be clipped...
The front entrance of a home needs to be attractive, welcoming and create the right spirit for anyone who visits your home. An attractive path is one aspect of the entrance to a home that will help create a warm welcome. Granite paving Granite is a long...
This vibrant garden gives a contemporary image to an inner-suburban Victorian style home. There is a traditional structure to the garden reminiscent of Versailles but it is composed of brightly coloured materials, pebbles and columns. The simple plantings and hard...
There’s nothing quite like a water feature in the garden because it always looks wonderful. Whether it’s a large water lily pond like Monet’s garden at Giverny, a Chinese network of water features or fountains and waterfalls in an Australian garden,...
Burke’s Backyard recently visited the 2 acre native garden on a 5 acre property belonging to Merv and Olwyn Hodge in Queensland. The natives include a large number of grevilleas (about 160 species and many hybrids that Merv Hodge has bred himself) as well as...
There is a wide variety of pots available in most parts of Australia ranging from traditional terracotta from Italy, glazed ceramic in oxblood red, greens, blues and whites and terracotta from south-east Asia, natural rustic granite pots from China, traditional cast...