Gardeners are being urged to stop spraying pests, because most pesticides also kill beneficial insects that feed on them. Gardener Mel Logozzo, who has spent eight years turning her paved backyard into a food and native flower garden, has written about nine kinds of helpful bugs. They include ladybirds, lacewings, parasitic wasps, assassin bugs, mantids and hoverflies. The guide also explains how to tell helpful bugs from pests, and how to encourage them with flowers, mulch and leaf litter. Pests such as aphids breed quickly, so a few pests can attract predators that keep numbers in balance.
A Cairns man has built a replica English pub in his backyard, complete with leather couches, a dartboard and a red phone box. Toby Chester said the idea came from online videos during COVID, and the bar is now the family's preferred living area. His sister and her husband have also turned old stables into a speak-easy, keeping the original red bricks. Psychologist Elisabeth Shaw said people have been investing in personal spaces at home and rethinking how they socialise as living costs rise.
A renovated home at 21 Lascelles Avenue, Manifold Heights, is on the market for $2 million to $2.2 million. McGrath agent Georgie Shaw says the outdoor space is a key drawcard, including a playground, swimming pool, covered deck with a built-in barbecue and outdoor fireplace. The red clinker brick home has a renovated kitchen, bathrooms and plantation shutters. A former games room has been enclosed to create a multipurpose pool house or extra living space. Shaw says the vendors, who are moving to acreage, have added extras that make it a ready-to-move-in home.
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Flowering shade trees can cool an Australian backyard, block out neighbours and draw birds, bees and butterflies. Garden editor Jenny Dillon profiles seven suitable species. Colville's glory grows to 15 metres and produces orange clusters that attract rainbow lorikeets. Golden penda suits rainforest-style gardens, while the Persian silk tree offers pink pom-pom flowers through summer. Readers are advised to match tree size, climate and growth speed to their space.
Snakes are drawn to gardens that offer food, shelter and warmth, according to South Gippsland snake catcher Jake Condotta. Messy garden beds, compost heaps and long grass attract the rodents, frogs and lizards snakes eat. Bird seed, pet food, ponds and piles of timber can also draw them in. Condotta says people should keep their distance from snakes and never try to catch or kill them. If someone is bitten, they should call 000 immediately.
A Camden couple is racing to regrow their backyard lawn before their home wedding on 14 November. Denisse Vera and fiance Matt hope a fresh, healthy lawn will also win them the $5000 top prize in the Yates National Gardening League's most improved lawn competition. Construction work and free-range chickens damaged the original grass, and the couple has used lawn dressing and lawn food to help recovery. Ms Vera said they would use any prize money for a belated honeymoon in Santiago, Chile, with their son.
Police are investigating a suspected family violence homicide after a 29-year-old man's body was found buried in the backyard of a home on Nye Way, Orelia. Officers were called to the property around 2.20pm on Thursday after a family member raised welfare concerns. His 29-year-old twin brother has been taken into custody and is receiving hospital treatment. No charges have been laid. Detective A/Superintendent Jessica Securo said police are examining whether the victim was subjected to a prolonged attack and how long the body was buried.
