"Ted Byers" wrote in message
.. .
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.


No argument here. People often worry about things that to others would be
unfounded. My father is afraid to fly but loves to drive. Stats suggest
that we are more likely to die in a car crash than in a plane crash. I know
many that are afraid of mice, spiders, bees and most of all public speaking.
All may carry a slight risk of harm but for the most part we survive them.
I enjoy working with my honey bees but would not expect anyone who is
uncomfortable with bees to help me. I hope that we are able to get to the
show but only if she is comfortable with being there.

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

Those cedars may take a long time to compost!
My father is also diabetic, I am aware of how careful you must be and the
degree of concern that it can generate. Your gardens will develop over
time, they should be a joy not a burden.
Have you considered raised beds? We have a country property that is heavy
clay soil. We tried for years to grow flowers, usually with disappointment.
Digging in that stuff is hard going. We finally had a truck dump a load of
soil over the garden area (after covering it with wet newspaper to suppress
the weeds). Now the plants grow well and I don't need to dig in the clay.
Growing orchids has many advantages over regular flower beds, no digging and
no weeding to name two. However they seem to be some what addictive.
Enjoy the SOOS show.
Don