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Formal Domestic Design The owners of this property did not want deciduous trees dropping leaves, and they didn’t want to spend a lot of time sweeping. Instead they chose a garden in the modern formal style, which makes good use of a number of elements: hedges,...
Global Garden A few years ago theme gardens were very fashionable in Australia. They included cottage gardens, native gardens, succulent gardens, perfumed gardens, white gardens, and more recently, ethnic styles such as Mexican or Tuscan. The latest trend is a blend...
Heather Cant’s Garden Revisit Burke’s Backyard first filmed “Gowan Brae” at Burradoo over four years ago, so we decided it was time to pay Heather Cant another visit. The property is 11/2 acres (0.6ha), and consists of a charming old turn of...
We took that classic backyard disaster area, the disused driveway on the side of the house, and transformed it into a tropical jungle fantasy garden complete with ponds, a waterfall, colourful plants, a boardwalk and a suspension bridge. The progression of this...
Don’s Rubble Garden Australian native plants are excellent in the garden especially the new varieties of grevilleas, grafted darwinias, banksias, compact and prostrate wattles. An excellent base for a native garden is sandstone rubble. Sometimes this is produced...
Spraying a Fertiliser One of the easiest and best ways to give your garden a quick boost of fertiliser is to use an applicator that clicks straight onto the hose. Don recommends filling the applicator with a mixture of half Seasol for root development, and half...
Ed’s Tree Root Tips Several months ago we showed a story about storm water pipes that had been completely clogged by liquidambar roots. The owners of the tree actually removed an amazing 30 metres (100′) of root from their terracotta pipes! In response to...
Spring Rose Care Roses are among the best flowering plants in the world – for outstanding colour, perfume and cut flowers they’re hard to beat. However, roses do have special needs. If they don’t receive the right care and attention they won’t...
Espalier Espaliering means training a tree or shrub to grow against a flat surface. It’s a technique which has been used in France for centuries, particularly with pear and apple trees, and it makes a lot of sense because it means you can grow what is normally a...
Spring tips Spring has come early in many parts of Australia with plants like rhododendrons flowering up to a month early, and others finishing flowering much earlier than usual. Spring is always a busy time in the garden, but the early flowering and persistent heavy...