Don's Top Six Low Maintenance Plants
Plant selection is very important if you want a low maintenance garden. Some plants are high maintenance nightmares. At the top of the list is lawn, which needs regular mowing, fertilising and edging (paving is a much better low maintenance ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow
Brunfelsias are evergreen shrubs from tropical America. There are about 30 species, all with tubular flowers which change colour over successive days. Don's favourite, Brunfelsia bonodora, has masses of violet, lilac and white scented ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Climbing Roses
The latest trend when it comes to roses is a move away from the cottage garden towards free flowering, fragrant roses which can be used for privacy and screening. These types of roses often have climbing or semi-climbing growth habits, and they ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Dwarf Sacred Bamboo
This plant is not a bamboo but a dwarf form of Nandina domestica, which grows naturally in Japan, China and south-east Asia through to eastern India. This little shrub is very tough and hardy - it almost seems to thrive on neglect! A low, rounded ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Gymea Lily
Gymea lilies are spectacular Australian native plants with large, compact heads of nectar filled red flowers atop tall, thick stems. Most Australian natives resent being transplanted, but Gymea lilies can be dug up, moved and planted bare rooted. ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Burke's Backyard Best Azaleas
There are many different types of azaleas and most people have had one that looked beautiful but eventually died, usually because it was not a hardy variety. Some azaleas are very difficult to grow and others are easy so it is very important to ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Chinese Lantern
Chinese lanterns or abutilons (Abutilon x hybridum) are charming evergreen shrubs with attractive maple-like leaves and an open, pendulous habit. They grow to about 2-3 metres (6-10') tall. The lantern-shaped flowers are produced in September to ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Zygocactus
These beautiful plants have a botanical name that is difficult to pronounce: schlumbergera. They are named after Frédéric Schlumberger, a collector of cacti who lived in a château near Rouen in France in the mid-nineteenth century. [... more]
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Black Plants
When discussing colour in the garden black plants usually don't rate a mention, although there are quite a few available which have either very dark, blackish leaves or black flowers. They can look very stylish used in bright areas particularly ... [... more]
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Agonis 'After Dark'
Agonis flexuosa 'After Dark' costs around $25 for 200mm (8") pots. If your local nursery does not have it in stock, ask them to order one in for you. Recently introduced into cultivation, Agonis flexuosa 'After Dark', is a variety of the West ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Dietes - Plant of the Week
One of the great things about our Plant of the Week is that it is virtually unkillable. A clump-forming, rhizomatous perennial from South Africa. It has dark green, strappy foliage, which grows in fan-like rosettes. In spring it produces white, ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Bouvardia and Stephanotis - Perfumed Plants
The good news first - both plants have beautiful white flowers with a marvellous perfume. The bad news is that they're tricky to grow in many areas of Australia, and could well drop dead on you. However, Don thinks that they are both definitely ... [... more]
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