Stripper-turned-Landscaper Debuts on Oprah

Hey Stuart, thanks for alerting us to Aussie Jamie Durie's debut on "Oprah".  Quoting Stuart: "He's a perpetual celebrity fave and his charismatic personality has increased gardening's image to wide audiences here in Oz." 

But what Stuart didn't report - surely proof that he's of the hetero persuasion - is the news that Durie is a "one-time stripper," according to an Australian newspaper.  And because here at GardenRant we get to the bottom of important breaking news, here's more on the story from Wikipedia: "Prior to his television presenting career, Durie was a member of Manpower Australia, a highly popular touring male striptease act similar to the Chippendales."  He's even posed nude for an art magazine.  Sex and gardening - now there's a winning combination.

But back to Oprah (a friend of GardenRant, don't forget.)  She introduced Durie - sporting an ultratight T-shirt - as her "latest discovery" and announced that his garden renovation spots will appear regularly on her show.  There are even plans for Oprah to produce gardening shows starring Durie here in the U.S.

But discerning GardenRant readers will ask:  Wait - is he just a mow-and-blow guy with hot pecs?  A mere petunia-promoter?  Well, here's what we know.  In his first makeover report he mentioned the importance of saving water and cited his own garden back home, mainly cactus and other succulents.  And from the all-Oprah-all-the-time site we find this bit of Durie philosophy: "Connecting people with plants does provide well-being," he says. "We're all intrinsically, as humans, connected to plants."

So to recap, regular gardening spots on "Oprah" from an environmentally aware, spiritually enlightened point of view, delivered by a HOT Aussie who'll be starring in his own gardening shows right here on American television.  Looks like Christmas arrived early this year.  Or to borrow from another American maven: It's a good thing.

Comments

[Start]

So predictable ladies!!! I should have put money on you picking up this post.

I don't know what all the rage is about - we all look like that down here in Oz.

You are correct Susan. I did omit that he was once a stripper with the Chippendales and noticeably Oprah didn't mention it either. I guess it was so you hard hitting gardening journalists could add something new to your posts.

Regardless (and I am proudly hetero - married with 4 children) I admire this guy and his gardening style and TV charisma. He is an Aussie icon who does know his way around a garden.

[Stuart]

And I can't even spell my name right!!!

[Christopher C in Hawaii]

"is this guy just a mow-and-blow guy with hot pecs?"

Now I could take offense to that, as a group we hot mow-and-blow guys get so little respect, but I have been known to have my own judgmental opinions about some in the business.

I do think that mow-and-blow services are a worthy topic for an in-depth look at and an evaluation of the bad attitudes many people seem to have of them.

Let's face it, without mow-and-blow services perhaps %75 of gardening work would not get done.

Now a bit more on topic. I had the good fortune to meet some American gardening talent who has a local show for the San Diego area. Oprah could have done just as well by discovering him. While he is certainly easy on the eye, the tight shirts are passed over in favor of looser garments with more freedom of movement for real gardening work. This may help the viewer get right to the real substance in his show.

http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/ctn/downtoearth.html

[angela]

Ok... yes, he's pretty and yes, he's doing "garden renovations" on a daytime talk show, causing over-worked and under-appreciated housewives to drop their laundry baskets in unison when Oprah comes on. And you thought that was an earthquake.

I'm just wondering... what are his horticultural creds? School of hard knocks? An actual degree? Is he a contractor?

I've never seen the guy and I'd like to hear more, but I can't help wondering if there's a horticultural dynamo out there we should know about who just doesn't happen to have a cute accent and accept payment in dollar bills via his underwear.

Isn't this why we hate TV gardening? Do we really want to celebrate style over substance? Again, I haven't seen his work and am eager to be mistaken.

It just seems a little odd that nobody's dug up any dirt about his horticultural past!

[Heather]

You had me at "hot aussie."

[Xris (Flatbush Gardener)]

Oh, this is just so much fun.

"Art" magazine ... riiiiight.

[christinmpinmassachusetts]

Alas, nobody ever takes the pretty ones seriously... Now, just like attractive women in every classroom and boardroom in the world -- he's gonna have to work twice as hard to prove he knows his stuff.

Since everything I know about gardening, I learned from these blogs (only theory/no practice -- yet), I can't judge anyone's gardening expertise. But looks-wise, I happen to prefer the more "Down To Earth" look of the gardener with the Sammy Hagar hair that Christopher gave us a link to.

[Nada]

He's immensely popular here. He did a show called "Backyard Blitz" where they'd transform a suburban yard into a 'garden'....all this within 48hours.

The show was really popular but I think it fell into the "we've watched them do it, so we don't have to".....but even he got some people interested in gardening that's not a bad thing.

Despite his charm, the show used to drive me crazy - from a gardening perspective. Always planting things from the same palate, too much hard landscaping and setting up expectations of "quick, instant gardens." My husband used to say to me when we'd be discussing(often heatedly) our garden, "This is no Backyard Blitz".

Jamie did do a lot of digging with his shirt off....TV ratings on a Sunday night were always quite high!

[Kim]

Uhoh... Nada, I'm getting the impression that he's the male version of Susie Coehlo!

(I prefer Sammy Hagar's little brother, too, for the record. Something about that smile just makes me look for the little cheesy shine mark on at least one front tooth--like the old toothpaste commercials!)