I am not sure if we can get to the SOOS show, my wife is concerned about
the
SARS out break in the GTA. She may change her mind as the weekend gets
nearer.

I wouldn't worry about SARS. It seems to me that the media especially, but
also certain politicians, have blown it up way out of proportion. There are
less than 2000 cases world wide, and the WHO has known about it for 5 months
already. If it is highly contagious, why is it that China, with a
population of over a billion people, doesn't have millions of cases and tens
of thousands of deaths? And then there is the fact that the mortality rate
among known cases is of the order of 4%. Globally, there are only a few
dozen deaths: tragic, but it could be much worse, and it is much worse with
a number of other diseases we generally ignore until they actually hit us
personally. Yes, it is apparently something new, and it is prudent for
health care authorities to be examining it, but with the numbers I have seen
so far, you are more likely to die from the flue in the next couple weeks
than you are to die from SARS. After all, the last I heard on the news,
there are an average of 2000 deaths annually in Canada alone due to the
flue: and some strains of the flue are MUCH worse than even that. In the
case of the flue, we know that, with most varieties, the very young, the
very old, and the sick are most at risk because their immune systems are
weak. In the case of SARS, there are far to few cases to even make a guess
at relative vulerabilities, except in the case of front line health care
workers, who seem to be at the greatest risk in Canada; but that is because
they are constantly exposed to sick people.

In some respects, it is like the concern about the west nile virus. Yes, it
can kill, and when symptoms apear they can be very serious, but the vast
majority of those actually infected with this virus never even shown
symptoms; and our general level of exposure to the virus is extremely low.
Yet, because of the coverage, and I suspect in part the treatment of the
issue by public health authorities, there is concern such that some are
recommending wide spread spraying for mosquito control (I sit on the
environmental advisory committee and have seen this question raised a number
of times). It seems to me that the risks due to the spraying may well be
much greater than the risk due to the west nile virus. There is just too
little known to make a good judgement about what to do, if anything.

I wonder how many people with serious conditions, like heart disease or
cancer, may die because of hospital closings, and delayed surgery, due to
SARS. My sister's brother-in-law has a serious heart condition. He will
not survive without surgery, yet his surgery has been postponed indefinitely
because of SARS. This is a situation in which taking steps to reduce one
health risk exacerbates others, but health care authorities often seem to
make recommendations or take decisions based on inadequate data.

If I were to speak with your wife, I would say, "Relax. Don't worry about
it. The risk to you is minimal. We have been treated to plenty of
irresponsible coverage in the media, and questionable judgements made by
some in the public health authorities, so your fears are understandable.
But do NOT cheat yourself of a delightful experience at the orchid show in
Toronto because of this."

BTW: lest anyone think I am blowing smoke, I make my living developing
software for the environmental consulting industry to facilitate risk
assessment, and I am an ecologist by training.

I agree with you regarding Irises and Lilies, they have been favourites of
mine for years. We moved to a new home last year that has about half an
acre of gardens full of unusual (for our location) plants, trees and
shrubs. There where very few Iris or lilies. I hope to correct that
problem!

I am in almost a similar situation. I bought, with my sister, a house in
Orillia that has a HUGE lot. The difference is that there were no gardens
at all anywhere, and in front of the house were two really six, large cedars
(now composting). My health is not very good, though, and double digging
the flower beds I put in front of the house almost killed me. I am
diabetic, and the day after I did it, my blood sugar went from 9 mmol/l to
less than 2 mmol/l in three quarters of an hour at breakfast time despite
having had a carbohydrate rich breakfast (any reading less than 3.5 mmol/l
should be considered dangerous). This was due to an elevated metabolic rate
due to the exercise the previous day. Had my nieces not been present when
it happened and ran to get fast sugar, I would have died last spring.
Fortunately, that was the only dangerous low I have ever had, and over the
past five years, my blood sugar has fallen as low as 3.5 mmol/l only about a
half a dozen times. I want to set up some beds in the back yard, but I
can't afford to hire anyone, and doing it myself will take a fair bit of
time, especially since every place I would put one will require double
digging and significant ammendment of the soil (I would probably need a
truck load of triple mix to get it right); and there is no help since my
sister's kids are too small and the adults in my family are all way to busy
with working for a living (I work too, but I don't have to work weekends).
For me, in addition to the beauty and fragrance of the lilies and irises
generally, the fact that they are very hardy perrenials has obvious
advantages for me.

Cheers,

Ted