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...
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...
Rudi’s Fountains Don talked to sculptor Rudi Jass about some of the stylish water features he has created. Rudi’s designs are elegant and timeless – he does not like overly crafted pieces because he thinks they quickly become dated. His fountains...
Sprint Cars Brian Linigen has one of Australia’s most amazing backyards. It all started about twelve years ago, when he visited a friend who had a milk bar in the backyard. Brian built a milk bar on his property too, but he didn’t stop there. He added many...
The Conservatory Nursery Yates and Garden Centres of Australia conduct a competition each year to find the best garden centres in the land. For the second year running, first prize in the medium-sized garden centre category has gone to The Conservatory, a nursery in...
Simon Johnson, innovative businessman and owner of specialty food venture, Simon Johnson Purveyor of Quality Foods, bought his beachside house four years ago. At that time the cottage style garden was full of roses, marguerite daisies, lavender and weeds. Simon...