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Mondo Grass Steps, pavers, concrete slabs or tiles can look very stark and harsh in the garden. A popular landscaping trick is to tone down these areas using one of the varieties of mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus). Don visited Bronte House in Sydney, where mondo...
Mandevilla ‘White Fantasy’ Don looked at an outstanding new hybrid mandevilla bred in Japan. ‘White Fantasy’ has gorgeous white flowers with just a touch of pink in the bud. Plant details Common name: ‘White Fantasy’ Botanic name:...
Orange Trumpet Creeper The orange trumpet creeper is a South American native which puts on a spectacular display of brilliant orange flowers from winter through to spring. Plant details Common name: Orange trumpet creeper, flame vine Botanic name: Pyrostegia venusta...
In our segment Don talked about the value of animal manure in the garden. Manure conditions soils of all types, it provides nutrients, it is already more or less decomposed and it is teeming with bacteria and other beneficial organisms. Animal manures can either be...
Harvest Size, Colour Matters It’s often difficult to tell when fruit and vegetables are ready to harvest. With produce that does not actually ripen, such as root crops, you often have to go by colour and size. Citrus Citrus trees are fabulous to have in the...
Harvesting Growing your own fruit and vegetables is tremendously rewarding. However, knowing when the produce is ready for harvest can be a problem for many gardeners. Here are Don’s tips on harvesting tomatoes, pumpkins, figs, corn and olives. Tomatoes...
Last year when Milton Old of Beauty Point, near Launceston in Tasmania, was watching Burke’s Backyard, he was inspired by the topiary animals and shapes in the gardens of John Mircello and Peter Nguyen. Milton decided to have a go at pruning one of his conifers...
Trimming a Lilly Pilly Topiaries are plants that have been trimmed into interesting shapes, such as cones, animals or balls on sticks (standards). Growing them is a lot of fun and they look great in the garden. However they do need regular and careful pruning, and...
Don looked at some of the materials commonly used to build retaining walls. Treated pine log or sleeper walls are popular, cheap and easy to erect, and they are used for both small and quite substantial walls. However, they don’t last well. Examples shown in our...
The October edition of the Burke’s Backyard magazine includes a free packet of Asian green seeds. The packet contains mixed seeds of Chinese cabbage, kailan (Chinese broccoli), pak choi white (Chinese white cabbage), pak choi green (bok choy) and tatsoi (Chinese...