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Trevor Nottle is the author of Gardens in the Sun, a book about the beauty and practicability of Mediterranean gardens for our Australian climate. Don Burke recently visited this Australian garden writer and discovered his feelings about the richness of the flora of...
Indoor plants are simply not very fashionable any more. Rarely do you open a decorator magazine and see plants featured in an interior decor. Indoor plants, however, can be used well in an indoor garden. Burke’s Backyard recently visited a house where an indoor...
The best of the new house and garden designs in Darwin are equal to the best in the world. Superb tropical houses and gardens are being built that are beautiful but also pleasant to live in amidst the stifling heat and humidity of our most northern capital city. The...
Most of Australia has just emerged from the awful El Nino drought. Our garden plants have suffered badly through this period. So, this is the most important spring in the last 10 years – put in some effort now and the results will be tremendous. The problems:...
Dry stone wall building is one of the oldest construction methods known to mankind. These mortar-less barriers are dotted throughout the British countryside. During the Burke’s Backyard trip to Ireland, Don visited the Rock of Cashel, a cathedral built entirely...
There are many statues and garden ornaments available these days. They are often white concrete which look great in a formal Roman or Greek old style garden but unfortunately don’t suit most gardens. In a conventional garden a more neutral colour such as...
A swimming pool and its surrounding landscape can fulfil your fantasy. Don recently visited a pool area which was jointly designed by Brad Baxter of Award Pools & Landscapes, Ty Armstrong the owner and John Storch, Landscape Architect. This particular pool could...
Two viewers’ letters were mentioned on Burke’s Backyard recently. One included a photo of a 10 year old Grevillea ‘Pink Surprise’ which was covered in flowers and still looking like a very healthy plant. The grevillea had been pruned heavily...
Burke’s Backyard recently visited the garden of Gitta and Gunther Rembel. Situated in bushland, it was designed with a series of walled, courtyard gardens preserving and blending with the native vegetation as well as creating separate garden rooms. The walls...
Soil which has been exposed to the hot, dry conditions that have been experienced recently in much of Australia can become resistant to water. Even after heavy falls of rain or deep watering, soil that is water resistant will remain dry just below the surface. Both...