Don’s first impression of this garden was that it looked ‘messy’. The owner, Wendy Coppock, had placed potted plants of all shapes and sizes outside the back door to screen the clothes line from view. A white cubby house for the kids had been plonked...
Fertilisers Plants produce most of their annual growth over the next few weeks, so it is important to fertilise them now. Lawns: use a complete lawn food, an organic food such as Dynamic Lifter formulated for lawns, or a slow-release lawn fertiliser such as Scotts...
In spring grass starts sending up new growth, so it’s the perfect time to give your lawn some extra care and attention. Water Using a fixed sprinkler (those with a rainmaker or arching pattern are excellent), give the lawn a good soaking once or twice a week...
The verge, or nature strip, in front of a property can be a problem for homeowners. Many people put in a lawn, which has to be constantly mown and maintained. These strips of lawn often look dusty, dry and ugly, and have bare patches and tracks worn through them by...
Banksias grow naturally in deep, sandy to gravelly soils with excellent drainage. In heavier soils and in humid climates they can be susceptible to root rots and fungal problems. Particularly tricky in east coast gardens are the beautiful Western Australian...
There are about 100 species of boronia, with most found in Western Australia. They are usually small shrubs to 1m (3′) tall with pink to mauve, 4-petalled, perfumed flowers and aromatic foliage. Some species do grow taller, and some have white, yellow or brown...
Hiding a Shed Garden sheds are essential for storing equipment and tools, but they can look very ugly. In our segment, Don looked at a simple, low-cost solution to the problem of an ugly shed. How it was done The fibro shed was first painted an unobtrusive, tan brown...
Trees are great survivors; some can live for hundreds to thousands of years. Don looked at two magnificent old gums in his garden, which to the casual observer look half dead and ready for the chop. Both are centuries old and even though they have hollows and parts of...
Some very common plants or ‘garden workhorses’ can look special when clipped and pruned into interesting shapes. A good example is Hedera canariensis, a species of ivy native to Tunisia and Algeria. Plant details Common name: Canary Island ivy Botanic...
Jenny McCann lives in Lesmurdie, Western Australia, with her husband, Eliot, and baby, Davis. They do have a garden – somewhere under a jungle of morning glory (Ipomoea indica). Jenny recently sat down and wrote a letter to Burke’s Backyard urgently...