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Don carried out renovation pruning on a neglected Grevillea ‘Robyn Gordon’. He explained that severe pruning would kill or cure the grevillea: it would die, or it would send out new growth. Either way you’re better off, because there’s really...
If you live on a busy road, it’s a great idea to screen out passers-by and vehicles by planting a hedge. Hedges will also act as windbreaks, although they won’t cut down on street noise. The row of Leyland cypress shown in our segment was planted as a...
When choosing equipment or machinery for your house or garden, it’s best to go for something that is simple, with very few moving parts. That way, there is less to go wrong, wear out or break. Home irrigation systems are good examples. Many are fitted with tiny...
Don looked at a row of sasanqua camellias growing in a very narrow garden bed alongside a busy road. Because space was so limited, the camellias had been espaliered against the brick wall. Espaliering means training a tree or shrub to grow against a flat surface....
Don looked at a row of murrayas (Murraya paniculata) that had died back through the winter. This problem was caused by frost chilling the leaves down, stopping them functioning properly and leaving them susceptible to sunburn next morning. The parts of the bushes...
Don and the Burke’s Backyard team travelled west of Sydney to Bilpin, in the Blue Mountains. There they met Greg Bailey, the owner of ‘Springside Gallery’, who showed them around his beautiful 4 hectare (8 acre) garden. Don was amazed at how lush and...
If you’ve always wanted to grow a lush, green lawn but you’re not having much success, the problem could be soil compaction. Grass does not grow well in compacted soil. Don’s tip Simply stamp your foot on the ground! If it feels fairly hard...
Don visited turf farms at Clarendon and Windsor, on the outskirts of Sydney. Recently, this area has had severe frosts with temperatures as low as -6°C. He compared lawn varieties being grown at the farms for frost and cold tolerance. ‘Couch’ Couch is a...
One of life’s pleasures is to go without shoes in summer – unless there’s bindii in your lawn. If you’ve ever had bindii prickles in your bare feet, you’ll know how painful it can be. Bindii (Soliva pterosperma) is a specialist plant,...
The bushfires that swept through areas of New South Wales recently caused an incredible amount of damage. Sadly, some people lost their homes, while many others lost everything around their homes, including their gardens. We contacted Carmel Niland, Director-General...