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Decks are a classic part of the Australian home whereby you can enjoy the outdoors but still have the convenience of being close to the house. Often, however their poor design does not encourage one to use them to their potential. The Burke’s Backyard team...
Elevated decks are common in Australian homes but creating a garden underneath the deck can be challenging to the average gardener. Dry and shady conditions limit the range of plants which can be grown and people often make the mistake of trying to incorporate too...
Don visited a suburban back garden which was looking like a dust bowl disaster and was in need of a complete renovation. The main existing problems were: retaining wall without drainage and weep holes which allowed the area behind to become waterlogged during wet...
Australian gardens in the 1950s and 1960s were simple areas of lawn with few interesting plants. These days gardens have become places of fantasy where people create a bit of theatre in the backyard. Australians are amongst the biggest travellers throughout the world...
After a heavy thunderstorm in Sydney, two large trees from a neighbour’s property fell onto the recently built ‘Burke’s Backyard’ aviary. Some damage occurred to the structure but no birds were lost. However much it may look like an accident,...
Tibouchinas (which used to be known as lasiandras) have purple or pink flowers in late summer or autumn, with some varieties flowering during winter. They range in size from small shrubs (the variety ‘Jules’ is a shrub to 1m (3′) tall) to tall trees...
Some unusual plants to grow in your garden are the elkhorns or staghorns. The difference between these two plants is the elkhorn (Platycerium bifurcatum) has thinner, wispier leaves and multiple “eyes” or rosettes of foliage whereas the staghorn...
The cut and fill method of construction is very popular for sloping building sites. It involves cutting back into a hillside and moving the soil to the lower side of the site to create a level building site. A retaining wall is then required to hold back the earth....
Growing your own plants from a cutting is one of the most satisfying things you can do when gardening. The cuttings can be taken during late spring and summer and grow readily. Plants that can be grown from cuttings include; Coleus, Verbenas, Double impatiens,...
Rocks in the garden add interest and style to any design, whether it’s around a pool, in a rockery of a Balinese style. But rocks can be expensive to buy and to install in the garden. That’s why the art of rock making has become such a popular garden...