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Natural Rock Swimming Pool Once swimming pools were boring, rectangular things in the backyard, but now innovative designers are creating pools that are not only stylish, but also water wonderlands for children. Don visited the Wynne family and looked at their...
Pymble Garden The owners of this Sydney property gave landscape designer Anne Thomson a free hand when it came to their garden. They only had one request: that the garden should be green all year round. However, Anne was faced with one very large problem – a...
Sculpture Garden Seven years ago Ann and Tony Emmett moved from Queensland to the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. They are keen gardeners, and had always wanted to live in a cool area and grow cold climate plants. When they bought the 1.4ha (3.5 acre) property...
For the last five years or so, weekends have been very special for Fairfield businessman Aldo Pecora. Every Sunday he rises at the crack of dawn, goes outside and begins work on his hobby. Aldo is an expert topiarist, and spends hours carefully trimming and pruning...
Caroline and Jack Linschoten are passionate about Bali, where they’ve had many wonderful holidays over the past ten years. They’ve brought back everything from woodcarvings and candlestick holders through to masks, handmade furniture and stone statues....
Olives Many Australians picture the beautiful olive groves throughout Mediterranean areas such as Spain, Italy and Greece, and dream of planting olives and making a fortune. Australia does have the potential to develop a successful olive industry, but there are some...
Kitchen Vegie Garden The son of a female convict, William Charles Wentworth was born in New South Wales in 1790. He became famous in 1813 when, along with Gregory Blaxland and Lieutenant William Lawson, he found a way across the Blue Mountains. This discovery gave the...
Mulching depth If your garden is mulched but you are still having problems with weeds growing through, you probably haven’t applied the mulch correctly. Mulch needs to be at least 75-100mm (3-4″) deep to control weeds. It is very important to mulch your...
The weather has been very unseasonable in Australia recently, particularly along the east coast. Summer didn’t really eventuate. We’ve had the occasional very hot day, but then later that day or the next day it’s been cold again. When temperatures...
There’s something about pruning that seems to bring out aggression in people, especially men. However, pruning doesn’t have to be like a shoot-out at high noon. You don’t need to take out all your frustrations on your plants, nor should you be...