Lazy Home Maintenance
After all his handyman chores are done, Scott Cam loves to relax in front of the TV watching the footy. If you're spending all your weekends doing jobs around the house, Scotty has a few shortcuts to save you time and make your life easier. A ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Fortune Telling with Roses - The French Alternative
Through the ages people have used many different methods to tell the future. One of Jackie's favourites is the apple pip method used in Ancient Rome. To predict the winner of a horse race, the Romans apparently named each pip after a horse, then ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Balcony on a Budget
Sydney graphic designer Elly Clark lives in a red brick block of flats with a rounded Art Deco influence. The building itself presents an interesting challenge, but Elly was really stumped when it came to her tiny, useless balcony. What could be ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Bird Feeder
Rita Hill demonstrated a simple technique for making a bird feeder and a birdbath for your garden. You'll need: bamboo or long, straight, stout prunings from the garden river pebbles 2 shallow dishes (such as terracotta pot plant bases or shallow ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Fake Wall Makeover
Don and Scott used faux rock panels and colourful foliage plants to makeover an ugly, damaged brick wall. These semi-flexible panels are made from moulded polyurethane covered in sand, oxide and paint. We used two sections (3m x 2m), weighing ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Books
Horse Colour Explained by Jeanette Gower Published by Kangaroo Press Available in bookstores The New Native Garden by Paul Urquhart Published by Lansdowne Publishing Pty Ltd Cost: $34.95 Cost: $49.95 [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Barbecue spring clean
If your trusty cast-iron barbecue plates have grown a bit rusty over the winter months, here's how to restore it to as-new condition. Take the cooking plates out of the barbecue, and set out several sheets of newspapers (they make it easy to ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Nasturtium - Plant of the week
This wonderful plant is often taken for granted. As well as producing brightly coloured, cheerful flowers, it is the ideal plant for a child's first garden. The seeds are large and easily handled by little fingers, and the plants are easy to ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Leaf Loo Paper - The French Alternative
If you find yourself stranded in the loo without any toilet paper, don't worry. Jackie French has a green alternative! This famous dunny 'leaf' used to be known as 'Irish toilet paper', although it was also used in the Channel Islands and in ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Wise Sculptures
Phillip Ceccato's sculptures of animals and birds are "95% anatomically correct". He has achieved this level of accuracy by combining a love of wildlife, attention to detail and a lot of research at the Queensland Museum. Phil established Wise . [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Building Tips
You'll look just like a professional builder if you use these tricks of the trade from Scott Cam. If you have to screed some sand, Scott recommends using a level rather than a piece of timber. That way, you can check to see if your job's straight ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
Eccentric Art House
Artist and teacher, Andrew Hayim De Vries, has completely rebuilt a small, 1920s timber worker's cottage using what he calls 'urban rubble'. Andrew purchased the house in 1986, and over a period of 12 years he transformed it into a whimsical ... [... more]
Burke's Backyard |
