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Every week, parts of Burke’s Backyard are filmed in Don’s garden. It is a native garden, which includes many plants that are indigenous (that is local) to the area. Over 200 species of birds visit the garden throughout the year, including silver eyes,...
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...
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,...
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...
The decorative ponytail plant is native to dry, desert regions of Mexico and the southern United States. Plant details Common name: Ponytail palm, elephant’s foot tree Botanic name: Beaucarnea recurvata (also known as Nolina recurvata and N. tuberculata)...
Giuseppe and Rosa Bianca Carlo-Stella have a fabulous garden filled with vegetables, herbs and fruit. They even have a mini coffee plantation in their backyard! Giuseppe and Rosa harvest the red coffee berries and extract the seed, which they use to make their own...
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...