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Westbrook Garden Imagine having to create a garden on a steep, rocky hillside with very little soil, low rainfall and no town water. Against all the odds, Chris Coffey enthusiastically accepted the challenge of landscaping 1.5 hectares (3.5 acres) of land in the...
White Rooftop Garden Don discovered an ultra modern garden and entertainment area on the roof of a Melbourne office building. Jamie Loft, Landscape Designer and Company Director of the garden and pool design business ‘Out From The Blue’, gave Don a guided...
Don was faced with a gardener’s worst nightmare: a backyard completely overgrown with weeds. This thick jungle of nasties included lantana (Lantana camara), wandering jew (Tradescantia albiflora), morning glory (Ipomoea indica) and privet (Ligustrum lucidum)....
White Wall Makeover Don looked at a classic example of a problem faced by many gardeners: a stark, white wall. The owners had tried to soften the brickwork by planting a select variety of birch tree. Betula nigra (select form) ‘Tropical Birch’ grows...
Don looked at a camellia that appeared to have quite a few leaf problems. Rounded sections from some leaves were completely missing; some leaves had yellow blotches, while others were covered in dry, silvery brown patches. However, closer inspection revealed that the...
Lilly pillies are tremendously popular in Australian gardens, particularly for hedging and topiary. In fact, these Australian natives are often planted as hedges instead of box. However, there is one thing you should be aware of before you put in a lilly pilly. Many...
Snow Pear Garden Guy and Jeanette Cooper asked garden designer Peter Fudge to create an instant garden that was low maintenance, and in keeping with the style of their newly renovated house. Peter’s stunning design takes its influence from the formal...
Tom Thumb Makeover A dwarf evergreen magnolia (Magnolia ‘Little Gem’) was planted on each side of the entrance to a building with stark, white walls. ‘Little Gem’ reaches about 4-8m in height. It has a dense growth habit, glossy leaves...
Tropical Inner City Garden The owners of this inner city home have a busy lifestyle and wanted a simple, low maintenance garden that they could enjoy on weekends. Landscape designer Brendan Lewis came up with a combination of easy care foliage plants to provide year...
Ferns When Tamara Cox walks out into her fern garden, she feels as if she is entering another world. It is a world that is tranquil, cool and invigorating, where it’s possible to relax and unwind from the tensions of everyday life. A lot of people think ferns...