Famous Australian people and landmarks on Burke’s Backyard
When Di and Doug Johnson purchased their Mornington Peninsula property it consisted of sparse farmland and 1 acre of Pinot Noir grapevines. The topsoil was acidic and very thin. After 7 years of work and the application of tonnes of horse and chicken manure, the...
Gledswood Garden Spring is a wonderful time to visit historic ‘Gledswood’, an early colonial homestead and garden situated at Catherine Field, about an hour south-west of Sydney. Construction of the old homestead began around 1816 for the Chisholm family,...
Gnome Garden Mary Simmons collects ornaments of all kinds and displays them in her garden. In the front yard there is a group of gnomes beside the letterbox, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs take pride of place under an archway. These pieces have to be...
Gooseneck Pottery The Gooseneck kiln is one of the largest wood-fired kilns in Australia, measuring 14 metres in length and 3 metres in height and width. It is fired over a four or five day period twice a year. Pots made include jugs, teapots, mugs, bowls, baking...
Greg Champion’s House Listeners to ABC Radio’s ‘Coodabeen Champions’ would be familiar with the songs of Greg Champion. Greg achieved national notice as a songwriter in 1986 with his first single, ‘I Made a 100 in The Backyard at...
Highfields Garden The first Australian farm gardens were heavily influenced by the gardens of England and Europe. Although designed and planted only 13 years ago by Rick Eckersley, Highfields at Mt Macedon in Victoria is very much in that mould. The garden also...
Jumbunna Garden Don spoke to Paul Blackman about the garden he designed around an old house in the Jumbunna area of southeast Victoria. Paul’s brief was to create a pleasure garden, and so he set about filling the space with tranquil ‘micro worlds’,...
Junk Collector Kotton Patterson makes original pieces from recycled materials. He is the owner and manager of Thunderbird Construction and Procurement, a junkyard at the bottom of Johnston Street in Annandale, Sydney. The yard is an amazing mix of marine parts –...
Midway Garden ‘Midway’ in the Adelaide suburb of Fitzroy is a formal garden designed around a fully restored nineteenth century house. Surprisingly this elegant formality is the work of landscape designer Andrew Quixley, whose lighthearted modern water...
Margaret and Bob Eggins began work on their dream garden ten years ago. They started with what Margaret describes as ‘a big ugly space’ – a large open paddock with only one tree, a gigantic old teak. Today the area has been transformed: lawns...