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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...
Scott Cam, the builder from the Backyard Blitz team, has some valuable advice on buying the best circular saw for home use. He recommends lightweight machines with a small blade diameter – that is blade diameters of 162mm (6 1/2″) to 185mm (7 1/4″)....
Potted plants can look very effective around the home, but it’s often difficult to buy pots that work well with the colours of the house and garden. Don demonstrated an easy solution to this problem. He purchased some standard terracotta pots (which are not as...
Clay Soils Many people think that the worst soil you can have in the garden is heavy clay. However, Don explained that any soil can be a good garden soil. Indeed, most natural soils in Australia are suitable for growing a garden. In most instances it is better to...
Burke’s Backyard first visited Rene and Carolyn Hundscheidt in 1998, when they were just starting their garden. Rene utilised his skills as a builder to design and carry out the construction work. The original native garden was bulldozed, and a fabulous,...
When garden designer Rebecca Haynes first saw this tiny courtyard, it was an unattractive area full of dead plants, hanging baskets and mosquitoes! Her main challenge was to create a garden that was good to look at, almost like a 3-D painting, because the courtyard...