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Jackie French says that when you serve mint, don’t be boring! There are many different forms of mint available, all with their own distinctive flavours and uses. Growing mint The genus Mentha includes around 25 species of perennial and annual herbs from Europe,...
Don and the Burke’s Backyard team visited a garden that was being invaded by golden bamboo. This vigorous, running bamboo spreads by means of long, underground stems (or rhizomes). Every year new rhizomes are produced, and each rhizome is capable of suckering...
Persimmons (Diospyros kaki) are outstanding trees for the backyard, and deserve to be much more popular in Australian gardens. They have been cultivated for centuries in China and Japan, and although they are believed to have been derived from a wild species, they are...
Growing your own salad greens and herbs is very satisfying, and you don’t need a lot of space. You can grow a few greens in large pots or troughs, or tuck them into the flowerbed. In no time at all you’ll be enjoying your first harvest. In our segment, Don...
Don visited Mick and Anna Perri at their home on Sydney’s northern beaches. Mick is an expert gardener who has been growing fruit and vegetables on his property for 24 years. Don asked Mick to take part in a trial of some new and unusual fruit trees. These are...
A beautiful plant in the wrong pot can look awful. In our segment, Don showed how to coordinate plants and pots for great designer looks. Waterwise style If you’re too busy to look after plants, think about potting up a succulent such as Agave attenuata. It...
Don looked at the upright, narrow-growing form of the western red cedar. Thuja plicata ‘Fastigiata’ is a small tree to about 10m (30-40′) tall and 2m (6′) wide. It has a narrow, columnar growth habit, short branches and attractive deep green...
In November 2000, Eileen Grange bought a small tomato plant from a nursery and planted it in a pot. Recently, Eileen contacted us to tell us that her tomato plant has grown right up under the eaves of the house. It is now about 2.5m tall and 3m wide, and still going...
Mansoor Noor wrote to Burke’s Backyard to tell us about the very long gourds grown by his uncle, Mashuk Ali. Ali and his family gave Don and the film crew a warm welcome and then showed them the huge gourds, which hang down from a sturdy support structure in the...
According to Jackie French, you can have large, beautiful house plants without spending hundreds of dollars – you simply grow your own! Jackie likes to grow avocados as indoor plants because they’re easy to propagate. Also, you first need to eat an...