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Australians love their backyards. It doesn't matter whether it's a small inner-city courtyard or a couple of rambling country acres, a secluded suburban sanctuary or a low-maintenance entertaining area, a great backyard perfectly matches your particular lifestyle and needs. It's the ultimate expression of who we really are.

The Australian Backyard not only celebrates the great Australian icon, it gives you everything you need to create a great backyard of your very own. The Australian Backyard contains inspirational ideas and expert practical information to help you turn your dream into reality. It shows you how to plan and design your backyard according to your lifestyle, how to accurately assess your needs, how to budget and how to choose a backyard style that suits your land, climate and environment.

Then, using the step-by-step checklist and inspired by hundreds of photographs and illustrations, you'll be able to plan the backyard you want. You can select a backyard style or combination of styles from the many stunning examples throughout the book. Each one reveals how individual needs such as entertaining, play areas for the kids and even utility areas can be catered for in attractive, practical ways.

Once you've decided what you want in a backyard, you are shown how to achieve it. All the principles of garden design are presented in an easy, accessible way – drawing up the garden layout, incorporating your house into the design and using visual tricks to 'bring the outside into the house'. You'll discover which plants will look best in your design, how to borrow views from surrounding gardens and how to create eye-catching focal points.

Next, a wealth of practical projects shows you how to actually build your ideal backyard. Simple step-by-step instructions explain everything from making a simple birdhouse through to laying pavers, making paths and walls, and building a barbecue area. Even if you decide to call in the experts, you'll have the information you need to ensure a good job is done.

Naturally, the plants you choose and how you use them will determine the ultimate look of your backyard. The Australian Backyard includes expert advice on selecting the right trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, climbers and other plants to make the most of both large and small areas. The book also reveals how to use colour, shape and foliage to achieve visual effects. And there is a comprehensive planting guide with cultivation requirements for all the plants that suit your needs.

320 pages