Northeast Chapter of AIFD

The North East Region ROCKS!

What a year it has been! I am grateful for the board and all they have done for a very successful year, I am so proud to have been President during our very busy and productive year. Ken Beebe and the Long Island Florist Association hosted a Steps program in the fall. It was the first time our new banner was raised. The event was well attended and the LIFA shared the profit with our region.The Philadelphia Florist Association was OVER THE TOP! Ron Mulray’s vision of the Milan Fashion District came to life. Under his directions The Philadelphia Flower Show was an enormous success the AIFD presentation of Bella Italia won:

Best in Show
4-People's Choice Awards
Special Achievement Award-Garden Club Federation of PA
PHS Achievement Award
Maintenance Award
These are the members and 2009 inductees who participatedMichael O’Neill, Dan Vaughn ,Deryk De Matas, Robert P DeBellis,Teresa Collucci, Brad & Kelly Harnisch, Michael A. Hasco, Laurie Duell Lemek, Adriene Presti, Claire Won Y. Kang,Sue Weissera, Chris Ondrak , Anthony Palmieri, Catherine Elizabeth Epright, Colleen Ann Kelly, Janet Copeland Black, Ann Jordan ,Michael Boskey, Polly Berginc, Sue Krabill, Lori Himes, James Dempsey, Kenneth E. Norman, Diane Spalding.An In Step with AIFD Program was held in Connecticut Feb, 28 in conjunction with the North East Floral Expo. Vonda LaFever presentation was well attended and hopefully we will see some of the faces again as candidates for membership.Joyce Mason-Monheim presented another In Step with AIFD program in Camden, Maine for Maine State Florist Association. Our need for so many program in the north east region is due to Symposium coming to Boston in 2010. We hope to generate lots of interest in AIFD for membership testing.Our North East pins are ready for purchase. Ken Norman worked on getting the art work done, his hard work paid as they are handsome and look very nice on our members. Karyn Brooks helped us with the cost making them a great fund raiser for the region. Contact Peter Couture to purchase your pin.The "Spectacular Spring" Design Show & Hands on workshop held at Hillcrest Gardens Paramus, NJ was another enormous success! Ken Norman hosted the event with many members pitching in their time an talent. Ron Mulray, Adreiene Presti, James Dempsey and Teresa Collucci designed while Ken and I commentated, the tried and true panel design show prove again to be a great show. The audience was thrilled with the presentation. Chris Ondrack an Colleen Kelley organized a silent auction to add dollars to the till and Hillcrest split the auction and gate fees. Lisa Greene, Ken and I taught the design workshop to a sell out group of eager students.Membership offered another Steps Program at Longwood Gardens followed by a Connections workshop. Steve Parker made this very important connection with Longwood Gardens one that we hope to continue each year.We give a full scholarship to Brad Harrington, we look forward to meeting him in Kansas City. We also gave a grant to our SAIFD School to go toward sending students to Symposium.Ken Norman, Colleen Kelley and I have finalized the regions policies and procedures this arduous task produced a living document to guide our region. All the board members will receive a fresh off the press copy in KC this July.Elections were held and our new board members are Polly Berginc, Teresa Collucci. Steve Parker will have a second term, Colleen Kelly is our President Elect, Suzanne Sampson will be our Vice President, Lisa Greene- Secretary and Ken Beebe Treasurer. Congratulations to you all!Lisa Greene kept us all informed through our updated newsletter. Lisa published one per month for 3 years! I thank her for her time and commitment. I know that I look forward to reading it and keeping in touch with our region.Our region will host its 25 Silver Anniversary this year at the 2009 National Symposium "The Sky is the Limit", Kansas City, MO. Ken Norman will be our host. Colleen Kelley is working on our regions History and Memorial Album for the celebration.As you can see we had a busy year and added needed funds to our treasury while offering educational opportunities to our members, isn’t that what it is all about?Many thanks to our NERC Board.Respectfully,Ann Jordan AIFDPresident, Northeast Regional Chapter
Northeast Regional Chapter News

Intoxication by Lilies

Over recent years lily poisoning have become one of the most common poisoning of cats in the UK.

Over the year it used to be permethrin flea products that cause most poisoning of Cats.
Acute renal failure has been known to arise in cats after eating or ingesting various members of the lilium genus since 1989 ( Brady & Janovitz,2000). In 2004 three Lilium species were documented to have produced toxicosis in cats.

The three species were:- Lilium longiflorum(Longi Lily), Lilium tigrium(Tiger Lily) and the Asiatic hybrids, however other lilies are listed by the National Animal Poison Control Centre in the USA.
These include:
Lilium longiflorum(Longi Lily)
Lilium tigrium(Tiger Lily)
Lilium speciosum rubrum( Rubrum Lily)
Lilium umbellatum
Lilium orientalis ( Oriential Lily)
Hemerocallis (Day Lilies)


Cats are very fussy eaters but they do have a tendency to ingest parts of the lily from leaves, flowers and most of all the pollen.
The kidney is the principle organ that is targeted by the toxin with the cat dying of acute renal failure 3-6 days after the exposure.
Clinical signs include depression, dehydration,increased urine, thirst, vomiting and anorexia.

Mortality from exposure is between 50 and 100% if treatment is not commenced before the onset of the clinical signs. Emergency treatment should be sought urgently, a vet should induce vomiting to empty the stomach and stop futher toxin being absorped, along with the adminstration of actived charcoal to bind the toxins in the gut. Major intravenous fluid therapy will futher help remove the toxins.

Cats coming into contact with the pollen should be shaved to remove the pollen from the coat hairs before they can groom themselves.

Advice for cat owners:-
Lilies are potenially leathal to cats if ingested.
All parts of lilies are thought to be toxic to cats.
The pollen bearing stamen should be removed from the flower, to stop cats contaminating their coats with the polllen and then ingesting during grooming.
Lilies should be placed where cats are NOT able to come into contact with them.
If cats have come into contact or eaten material from a lily emergency veterinary treatment should be sought immediately, if no treatment is sort 50-100% of cases prove fatal.
When transporting to the vets the cat should be prevented from grooming or the fur shaved to stop any further ingestion of the pollen.

source:- society of floristry, Glen Cousquer BSc(hons) BVM&S Cert Zoo Med MRCVS

As director of Flowertime Florist and http://www.wesendflowers.co.uk/ in my spare time I like to arrange fund raising events for the Round Table. Well soon I will be able to announce a brilliant event that will help Baby Marshall (Handstand Appeal) a little boy who lost both his hands and both legs through meningitis. The event will be something that everyone can get involded in. So watch this space!!!!!!!

Marshall story is below.

Marshall celebrated his first birthday on 22 December. On Boxing Day, Marshall was rushed into hospital following an attack of Meningococcal Meningitis. Meningitis is a brutal and unforgiving disease. While Marshall has escaped brain damage he has had to have both his hands and both his legs amputated. Marshall now faces a lifetime of rehabilitation while adapting to the use of prosthetic limbs. Because he is so young Marshall will continually require new prosthetic limbs as he grows. To put this in perspective, Marshall will require at least one pair of hands, at least once a year, every year until he is 16. A pair of hands costs £22K. A firm cost for his legs has yet to be established but it will be to a similar order of magnitude.

Marshall celebrated his first birthday on 22 December. He and his family enjoyed a lovely Christmas Day. “Marshall wore a little Santa Suit”, said his Mum, Stephanie, “He looked so sweet.” When Marshall woke up on Boxing Day morning, Stephanie noticed a tiny rash on his forehead. Worried that it was something serious, Stephanie and Moss, Marshall’s Dad, immediately bundled him into the car and drove to Treliske Hospital in Truro. At Hospital Marshall became more listless and was developing a rash all over his body. The medical staff immediately rushed him into intensive care. Doctors confirmed Stephanie and Moss’s worst fear - he had indeed suffered an attack of Meningitis. Doctors fought for over four hours to save Marshall’s life. His vital organs failed on two occasions. Said Dr Thys De Beer, Head of Intensive Care at Treliske Hospital, “Marshall is the sickest child I have ever seen. His survival is almost miraculous.” Marshall was transferred to Bristol Children’s Hospital which has one of the UK’s leading specialist units in treating Meningitis in very young children. Marshall’s vital organs failed again and, once more, medical staff battled for hours to save him. Over the next few weeks tests confirmed that Marshall had escaped brain damage and that his sight and hearing had not been impaired, however, Doctors had to tell Stephanie and Moss that Marshall would have to lose his hands and legs, due to the terrible damage caused by the septicaemia which often accompanies Meningitis. Marshall’s hands and legs were amputated on 27 January. Said Stephanie, “We knew it had to be done, otherwise Marshall would not survive, but on the day of the operation Moss and I were just inconsolable. It seemed so unfair.” Marshall was allowed home in time for Easter. His Mum and Dad had maintained a vigil by his bedside throughout his ordeal. “We were so glad to be allowed to go home at last”, said Moss, “while the medical staff have been marvellous, being in hospital for three months had taken its toll.”

I along with the Round Tables of St Ives and Camborne will need all the help of the community to raise as much as we can for this little boy.

At the monment donations can be sent to

Flowertime Florist Ltd

17 Penpol Terrace

HAYLE

Cornwall

TR274Bq

please make cheques payable to St Ives Round Table 531

Director Of We Send Flowers becomes Chairman.

Mark Nicholas NDSF FSF AIFD director of we send flowers as just become Chairman of St Ives Round Table again for the second time. Mark was voted into the chair on Monday evening at the AGM of St Ives Round Table.

Fellow tablers are convinced that Mark can help restore the round table back to it's former glory after a few year of decline. Mark is very passionate about Round Table and the charity work he does in the community.

Find you want to find out more about Round Table in St Ives or nationally email Mark on flowertime@btconnect.com or round-table531@hotmail.co.uk

Father's Day 21st June DON'T FORGET........

Fathers' Day

THANKS DAD!
After the rush and fuss of Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, it could be easy to forget your Dad on June 21st. Once the biggest floral days are out of the way, you could be tempted to kick back your feet and think it's all over until Christmas. But what about remembering that one special man in your life – who always lends you his last tenner, patiently gives you lifts in the middle of the night, and happily does all the odd jobs in your home? Who acts as dog sitter, gives you pointless tools as presents, and doesn't know what to say to you on the phone? It's a known fact that flowers speak louder than words.
We have some great suggestions on how to show your Dad you love him in the best way possible this summer. What about a flowering plant for his office, or a big bright bunch of flowers to make him feel extra-special? Men love bright, vibrant colours like red, and simple, bold shapes like sunflowers or chrysanthemum's.
If you opt for a plant, try a bromeliad. They're bright, unusual and architectural, and don't need lots of care if your Dad doesn't have green fingers.
He'll also love the scientific facts like how can plants remove chemicals from the air, and can reducecolds and flu by more than 20% (and we all know how bad "man flu" is).
So keep your Dad happy and healthy this Father's Day. Show him you care with flowers and indoor plants.
source flowers and plant association.

Chelsea Flower Show Thinner this Year.

Chelsea looking thinner as credit crunch bites

Chelsea Flower show will have several less gardens this year and fewer exhibitors in the Grand Marquee as companies pull in the horns in the face of the recession. Notable names like Notcutts and Squires have already pulled out while the NFU is still seeking a sponsor for its award winning display which has won an amazing 12 Gold Medals.

However while the show will be smaller the organisers, the Royal Horticultural Society are still convinced it will be a marvellous showcase of all things floral, including this year, another display of floristry organised by the British Florist Association.
source fandwb

Cornwall Garden Society - Spring Show 4th & 5th April.

SPRING FLOWER SHOW at BOCONNOC nr Lostwithiel.
The weather was very kind to the show organisers and the crowds turned out in their hundreds to enjoy a fantastic two day show of everything plant and flower orientated.

Nearly everyone leaving the show were carrying bags and bags of plants and flowers.

They held a Ready Steady Floral Art competition, Brass band played on the lawn and everyone enjoyed themselves to the full.

Photos give an over view of the great time that everyone was having.

Well done to the Cornwall Garden Society.