Scarecrows just aren't the same anymore. Firstly, they're not scary and second they just don't seem to be interested in crows, and vice versa.

They've morphed into a whole new level within society's psyche and taken a persona more urbanised than their rural roots could account. People now flock to Scarecrow Festivals - literally undeterred by the presence of such scaremongering figurines - and are even replacing the humble garden gnome (thank you, God!) with these more endearing and imaginative garden fillers.

For most people scarecrows have not even registered on the gardening radar screen yet there seems to be a rapid following as scarecrow festivals spring up all over the world.

In Yorkshire, UK tomorrow begins the Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival that runs through to the 19 August. The festival boasts more than 100 life-sized scarecrows that have each been hand-made according to local custom.

Then, towards the end of October the Kurrajong Scarecrow Festival commences from the 26-28th west of Sydney, Australia. Situated in the Hawkesbury area this is the 11th annual festival for displaying these creations. If you would rather get involved than just be an observer the Kurrajong site even has directions on how to make your own scarecrow.

Every year, over the June long weekend, Milton, NSW hosts their annual Scarecrow Festival. And if you thought this was just left up to the Aussies and the Pom's, you're sadly mistaken.

The US has a plethora of Scarecrow Festivals - St. Charles, Illinois (Oct 5-7), Wanatah, Indiana (Sept 21-23), Marshall, Michigan (Oct 20-28) and Bayfield, Wisconsin. Even Canada's Edmonton, Alberta has an annual show.

It's a great way to honour the humble scarecrow but they're a far cry from the simple paddock-securing icons of yesteryear. And while their history certainly doesn't tie scarecrows to gardens in any formal way, their future seems intent on altering that.

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It seems that glam garden boy, Aussie's own Jamie Durie, is in talks with media heavyweight Oprah. Not much is being given away as of yet but there is some room to hypothesize a little.

One option may be that Oprah is keen to back a US made gardening show hosted by Durie. This wouldn't be the first such backing as precedent has already been established with Dr. Phil's own chat show that rates highly both in the US and overseas. If this is the case it will be interesting to see what format it might take on as Durie's passion is more in projects and landscaping than actual horticultural pursuits.

The other option, and clearly more favoured by some sources, is a regular spot on Oprah's chat show. His debut last year has catapulted his name into the American arena and a continuance of this has been rumoured. One-off projects are certainly within Durie's expertise and may become a consistent feature on the show.

From my perspective, I think either option is going to be good for Australian gardeners as our profile is raised. Jamie Durie is a great ambassador of our hobby and I'm looking forward to seeing the outcome of these negotiations.

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Claiming that it is the biggest show of it's type in Australia, the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show kicks off this Wednesday in Victoria's capital city.

It's rated among the top 5 garden shows in the world and even claims that it is the biggest in the southern hemisphere - bigger than New Zealand's Ellerslie - which gives you an idea of its reputation.

The show has been going for 12 years and is housed in the Royal Exhibition Building and the Carlton Gardens just a stone's throw from inner-city Melbourne.

Many exhibitors have gone on from the MIFG show to win major awards at Chelsea and other renowned gardening exhibitions.

The show finishes Sunday afternoon and will most likely see more than 125,000 people visit this awesome spectacle of gardening. For more info check out the show's dedicated website.

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With a brand new year upon us and many garden shows popping up all over the place, which ones do you plan to visit this year?

Were there any that you missed last year and have stapled reminder notes on the calendar? What about the ones you did see - will you be heading back for another dose? Or, will it be a good day to clean the oven?

Share your thoughts and ideas on what are the unmissable garden shows of 2007.

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If you really enjoy great closeup nature photography then you're going to love this collection from Rick Leider.

He's created a site called Bee Dreams which displays macrofocused photos of these wonderful insects. They have all been taken around his home town in Michigan.

Link

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The Carlton Gardens have hosted the Melbourne International Flower Show since 1996 and at a recent council meeting to decide it's future Don Burke, a local gardening, weighed in to support its current location.

It appears that for some hosting the flower show has become an onerous burden and one that has started to take its toll. Suggestions were made that the show was also causing the gardens to suffer as they were put under a great deal of stress each year.

One of the councillors was even quoted as saying,

"This isn't so much a flower and garden show any more," Cr Brindley said. "It's much bigger than that. It's tied into the broader home and garden lifestyle industry . . . We are not dealing with a dainty, tasteful reinterpretation of a garden show here, we are talking about a full-blown exercise."

While I have never been to the flower show I have been to Carlton Gardens and from my limited viewpoint it would be a shame to move it. For if they did, the most likely venue would be the showgrounds which is hardly a gardening arena.

Link 1 Link 2

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