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Don visited Polly and Peter Park at their home in the Canberra suburb of Red Hill, and chatted to them about their amazing garden. The front garden is a formal garden of clipped hedges and a neat lawn. Beyond this facade lies something extraordinary. This is not one...
Coliban Garden Don visited Coliban, the home of Beh Kim Un and John Dunham. It is named after the Coliban river, which forms its boundary over more than 2.5 kilometres. In the early 1800s the property was used for sheep and cattle grazing, then after the discovery of...
Jamie Durie designed this minimalist, Australian contemporary garden overlooking the Pacific Ocean. His brief was to incorporate a swimming pool, spa and entertaining area into the design, while making the most of the spectacular views. Main entrance The main entrance...
Garden designer Mark Vowles has transformed a bare block of land at Deception Bay, Queensland, into a lush, tropical garden. He has travelled widely, and was inspired by the ancient and modern tropical styles of Thailand, Bali and the South Pacific. Mark has a passion...
Greek Style Courtyard When garden designer Matthew Cantwell first saw the courtyard shown in our segment, it was ugly and dated. Quarry tiles, mission brown furniture and a dilapidated paling fence made it a depressing place where the family definitely did not want to...
Indian Goddess Garden In 1996 Julia Wright wrote to Burke’s Backyard asking for help with the landscaping nightmare that she had inherited. The small courtyard at the rear of Julia’s terrace was barren, out-of-date, and completely covered by ugly dark...
Japanese Garden Although many Australians dream of living near the beach, gardening by the seaside can be quite a challenge. Not only are beach sites usually very windy, but the plants also have to cope with sandy soil and salt spray. Don visited a Japanese-style...
Don looked at the Taiwan or Formosa lily, a beautiful tall lily that has escaped from gardens to become a weed. It is now outcompeting many of our native Australian plants, and degrading the value of our urban bushland. Plant details Common name: Taiwan lily, Formosa...
Retired opera singer Maureen Williams and her husband Frank own one of the finest Japanese-style gardens in Australia. It was designed and built for the previous owners by Ken Lamb of Imperial Gardens, Sydney. His brief was to create a garden that would be walked...
Don transformed an ugly, useless part of the garden into a fabulous feature area complete with colourful plants, a spectacular fish pond and a waterfall. One of the most important reasons for this makeover was that a large picture window in the family room of the...