Much Ado About Jamie Durie

I have to admit I've only seen Jamie Durie do his magic with outdoor spaces a time or two. A sort of horticultural version of Extreme Home Makeover, it didn't hold my attention for long. I've been know to watch Curb Appeal a couple of times but for the most part gardening TV doesn't do it for me.

I like to think I'm on top of what's going on in the gardening world. However I had no idea just how much Jamie Durie does it for the rest of the women in the world.

Like with the hastily-built houses, there are some great ideas for backyards and patios, but the quick execution for TV always makes me wonder about long term issues with the materials, plants and structures. That wasn't anywhere near the minds of the Jamie Durie fans.

Entering the Bachman's "Heritage Room" with a couple of back flips and handsprings, he maintains that forward momentum with a constant patter in his engaging Aussie accent, no matter that he's hoarse and sweating by the end. Once again, I had no idea of his background in "cabaret" as he puts it. He certainly knows how to work an audience, even minus a g-string, never missing an opportunity for innuendo. And the women eat it up. But then apparently I'm not telling anyone anything new.

Don't get me wrong. I've spent plenty of time perusing those Ryan Gosling "Hey Girl-Let's go to bed and read seed catalogs and circle what we want, all night long" and "Hey Girl-Let's go divide like a thousand hostas" pages. I'm not immune to the charms of a good-looking man who loves gardening.

But I gotta give it to Jamie, he never misses a beat, when a cell phone rang, he just incorporated it into his shtick, answering the phone and telling the caller (possibly that woman's mom) that no he wasn't naked. It brought the house down and defused the rude interruption.

If you were there for meaty advice on making over your backyard into a private paradise, where once again, Jamie suggested you could walk around sans your budgie smugglers, you might have been disappointed. If you wanted a few fluffy tidbits of basic garden design mixed with a lightly veiled endorsement of Monrovia Plants (which I love) and Bachman's barbecue selection, from a beefy bad-boy with oodles of confidence and charisma, this was your show.

When I got home, I took a long look at his book which was generously included in the price of admission. it's his ninth book and I'll be the first to tell you he's a great storyteller. The gardening world needs more people like him that can bring to life the joys of gardening without rambling on about dry as dirt techniques that can be readily found in any book or the internet.

There in the book are sound design principles, good photos and and inspiring words. Jamie just wants more people to go outside and enjoy Mother Nature and their families, right in their own backyards. And there's nothing cheesy about that.