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Summer in the Garden This has been a very hot summer. The high temperatures and hot winds have killed or burnt plants in a lot of gardens, and high humidity has caused fungal diseases to occur on plants in many areas. Don’s advice is not to do much gardening at...
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...
Revving Up the Lawn in Spring Spring is a good time of the year to give your lawn some attention, particularly if you have any bare patches that need replanting. Sowing seed in the bare patches is an option for some lawn varieties such as cool climate grasses, but it...
Citrus plants have fragrant white flowers, glossy, evergreen leaves and delicious fruit which is very rich in vitamin C. They develop into attractive small trees when planted in the garden, but they are also well suited to pot culture. In fact, many species will crop...
Sanders Scott Cam, the builder from Backyard Blitz, looks at the best sanders for the home handyman. There are many different kinds of sanders, and your choice will depend on the type of job you are doing. Scott recommends including both a belt and an orbital sander...
Golden Marjoram – The French Alternative Jackie French says that golden marjoram (Origanum vulgare ‘Aureum’) not only tastes good, but also keeps garden goblins away. According to legend, goblins hate marjoram. Golden marjoram can be used in salads,...
A fine piece of architecture can be spoiled at ground level if the landscaping is not quite up to standard. Don looked at a classic example of getting it right: a garden and building that worked together particularly well. The result was not only stylish, but it also...