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Tree Peonies are ideal for Australia’s harsh dry conditions and current water restrictions. Their growth pattern is very similar to bulbs from early autumn through winter. The root system is activated by cold and feeding roots are active. This is the best time to...
Listen to Don’s Podcast here Radio Recipes For tips on the best vegies to grow now, click here For our tangy tomato salad with Asian-style dressing, click here For our watermelon and prawn salad recipe, click here For our hash browns breakfast with tomatoes and...
In an outer Sydney suburb, Don and the Burke’s Backyard team transformed a daggy Aussie backyard into a Tuscan inspired entertainment area. They tackled several problem areas including an old swimming pool and an ugly fibro garage. The spectacularly stylish...
If you have ever tried to guess the height of a tree, you’ll know that it is difficult. Well, there is a simple method to estimate the height of a tree, which doesn’t require any guess work or tree climbing. The method is based on the theory of proportions...
Gardening Fact Sheet: The Jacaranda [metaslider id=31261] Australian streets are awash with the magnificent purple-blue blooms of jacarandas (Jacaranda mimosifolia) in late spring and early summer. As well as being superb street trees, jacarandas look stunning on...
Flowering: Acanthus Ajuga Aquilegia (columbines) Azaleas Begonias Bromeliads Camellia japonica Clivia Daphne erigeron (seaside daisy) Eupatorium megalophyllum (blue Ageratum-like flowers) Hoyas Japanese anemone (Hupehensis – x hybridum) Kalmia (cold areas) Linum...
Roses have made a come back in Australian gardens as people discover the versatility, beauty and perfume of roses. Mid winter is rose planting time so here is the Burke’s Backyard guide to some of those easy-to-grow cottage and climbing roses. 1:...
Gardening and cooking for good health and great taste. On sale now in newsagents and all good bookstores
Don’s Rubble Garden Australian native plants are excellent in the garden especially the new varieties of grevilleas, grafted darwinias, banksias, compact and prostrate wattles. An excellent base for a native garden is sandstone rubble. Sometimes...
Don’s Top Tips Don’s great gardening tips have always been a feature of Burke’s Backyard over the last 17 years. Here are some of his favourites. Hassle free hose Coiling a garden hose makes it kink. Rather than coiling your hose, just run it up and back along...