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For a great Aussie look in the backyard, why not use an old hollow log as a planter? You might have a tree in the garden that has died and fallen over, or if you live on a bush block there may already be some hollow logs lying around on the property. Rustic planters...
Don visited one of the very best native gardens in Australia. Amazingly, this beautiful garden is planted on the roof of a house! Deidre and Ivor Morton’s mud brick home appears to be underground, but it is actually built on top of a rock and it nestles sensitively...
Myths and superstitions are part of the rich fabric of our lives – we rely on them to forecast the weather, tell the future and even to grow plants! The trouble is that sometimes it’s very difficult to separate fact from fiction. Throughout the program Don...
Peter Valder looked at some of the ancient myths associated with plant names Daphne Greek myth: Daphne, the beautiful daughter of a river god and a goddess of the earth, was relentlessly pursued by the sun god, Apollo. Just as Apollo was about to grab Daphne, her...
Maria and Kosta’s Garden – Concreting This week, Nigel and Don worked on the concreting at Kosta and Maria Elfes’ property. Two circular concrete areas, one larger than the other, were poured near the rear of the house and deck. Whilst the deck that...
There is a general belief that orchids are hard to grow but this is a myth. They are actually hardy plants when grown in the right climate and conditions. The popular cymbidium orchids are almost unkillable! They come in a fantastic range of flower colours,...
‘Shademaster’ or Soft Buffalo Grass A lush green lawn adds beauty and value to any home. Unfortunately, a more familiar sight to most gardeners is a thin patchy lawn struggling to survive without enough water or sunlight. One of the best lawn...
Cloudehill is at Olinda in the Dandenongs, about an hour’s drive from Melbourne. Burke’s Backyard has made a point of visiting this spectacular garden over a number of years, and talking to owner Jeremy Francis. At Cloudehill Jeremy combines modern,...
Soft Buffalo One of the best lawn grasses for shady areas has always been buffalo grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum). It forms a coarse, durable carpet and is reasonably drought tolerant. The good news is that recently some exciting new kinds of buffalo lawn have...
This striking plant from Thailand looks like bamboo but it’s actually a perennial grass. In Asia the large leaves are used to wrap food for steaming, and the flower heads are tied together and used as brooms. Plant details Common name: Tiger Grass Botanic name:...