The history of gardening is currently at a high point with improved plant materials, products and design concepts. In line with this trend, landscape architects Neil Hobbs and Karina Harris have created a garden with strong colour and geometric design. The garden has...
Trevor Nottle is the author of Gardens in the Sun, a book about the beauty and practicability of Mediterranean gardens for our Australian climate. Don Burke recently visited this Australian garden writer and discovered his feelings about the richness of the flora of...
Indoor plants are simply not very fashionable any more. Rarely do you open a decorator magazine and see plants featured in an interior decor. Indoor plants, however, can be used well in an indoor garden. Burke’s Backyard recently visited a house where an indoor...
The best of the new house and garden designs in Darwin are equal to the best in the world. Superb tropical houses and gardens are being built that are beautiful but also pleasant to live in amidst the stifling heat and humidity of our most northern capital city. The...
Structure and formality is returning to favour in gardens. Plants trained into hedges or along trellises or pergolas have become very fashionable. A pinnacle of garden achievement is a pleached walk. ‘Burke’s Backyard’ recently visited a garden which...
One of the most spectacular forms of modern housing in Australia is the marina home, snaking their way around artificial canals. Burke’s Backyard recently visited a Darwin home that is a truly magnificent example of canal art. Asian inspired, but ultra-modern...
Building a garden is one of the most satisfying things you’ll ever do. Don’t be overwhelmed by the task. A fairly ordinary backyard can be turned into a colourful and interesting garden using a little imagination and a few tricks. The makeover On...
Bird’s Nest or Crow’s Nest ferns (Asplenium australasicum) are lovely plants which are easy to use in the garden. Don Burke suggests using them creatively in a jungle setting. Experiment at the local nursery by mixing around the ferns with some different...
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...