In the Garden

Rob Piller wrote to tell us about the novel way his father, Henk, has covered his inground pool to provide more usable space in the backyard. Rob, the youngest of Henk and Wilma Piller’s children, left home in 1985. Henk has been maintaining the pool ever since,...

The work of renowned Australian landscape designer, Paul Bangay, has often been shown on Burke’s Backyard. For this week’s program, Don travelled 70 kms north-west of Melbourne to Woodend, where Paul is creating his own country garden. The 1.2ha (3 acre)...

Pat Buchanan was inspired by the Moroccan garden of artist Jacques Majorelle. Her garden features lush foliage and strong structural elements, cleverly planted to disguise the unattractive fences and the limited space in the courtyard. Most of the plants are survivors...

The front entrance of this country style house really needed a lift. Don added a new balustrade to the verandah, painted the concrete and steps, and planted the garden bed with fragrant gardenias and cheerful pansies. The result is a warm, welcoming entrance for...

Ross and Rosemary Haywood’s inspirational garden, ‘Girrawheen’, has been developed over a 20-year period. When Ross and Rosemary first purchased the property, it consisted of a small house surrounded by gum trees. They removed most of the trees,...

Don looked at a modern interpretation of an historic garden that might have been seen around a house built in the late 1890s. The design is a collaboration between Interior Designer, Christian Lyon, and Landscape Designer, Jo Taylor. ‘Granny Goes Groovy’...

Regular viewers of Burke’s Backyard may remember the garden belonging to Merve and Olwyn Hodge, at Logan Reserve in Brisbane. This is one of the very best native gardens in the country, and it will open under Australia’s Open Garden Scheme this weekend....

This inner city courtyard is a very good example of how to create a garden in a small space. The owners moved to Sydney from Adelaide six years ago and virtually brought the backyard with them. They moved from a house with a courtyard so most of the plants were in...

Don looked at a contemporary, Japanese-style garden at Noosa, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Local landscape designers Anne-Marie and Dror Barkai designed the garden to add interest to a stark, white, modular building. Their solution to a difficult design...

Don looked at two low maintenance gardens designed by Ted Whitley, of Sacred Grove Gardens in Sydney. Ted has combined native and succulent plant varieties to achieve year-round visual appeal, while minimising the work involved in maintaining them. Paddington...