The organisers of Finland\'s two-yearly stone show, Nordic Stone, launched in 2004, have always wanted the stone producers of the other Scandinavian countries to join them. But, once again this year, the Fins were on their own. So, as in 2006 when they partnered a glass exhibition, this time they teamed up with a garden exhibition for their show last month, writes Paul Daniel.

Nordic Stone was held in Turku and certainly visitors did not seem to find anything odd about stone being associated with a garden show.

As one visitor explained: "It is highly desirable to have some stone in your garden. The stone will absorb and store heat from the sunlight and then warm the ground during cold nights."

It was the Turku Fair & Congress Centre\'s development manager, Maria Lindbom, who developed the idea of a stone show with Heikki Palin, MD of Finland\'s biggest granite producers, Palin Granit, and the Finnish Natural Stone Association.