BILOXI, Miss. -- A Mississippi State University Extension Service specialist contributed to the most recent edition of the American Institute of Floral Designers’ “Guide to Floral Design.”

Jim DelPrince, Extension horticulture specialist, was a co-author of the third edition of this reference book. He also served as terminology researcher for the publication, which was announced July 5 in Las Vegas.

This 360-page reference manual is used extensively in the American Institute for Floral Design--or AIFD--membership process for participants to achieve the Certified Floral Designer certification and AIFD status. All AIFD members receive a copy of this updated edition, and copies are available for others to purchase online.

“The new edition of the ‘AIFD Guide to Floral Design’ contains more than 200 terminology updates with more than 150 new terms defined,” DelPrince said. “There are 21 new floral design images that denote the major divisions within the guide.”

He said another important update to the book includes an approach to understanding the principles of floral design, blending the previously published secondary principles as supporting concepts.

“The manual is used not only for the AIFD certification examination, but many flower shops also use it as a reference manual in their store so when they receive particular orders or when they communicate with their clients and with their employees, they’re using the common language,” he said.

In addition to DelPrince and the MSU involvement, the publication was supported by input from more than 20 other professionals representing Texas A&M University, the University of Missouri, Kiswaukee College, and the Missouri Botanical Garden, in addition to private businesses.

Visit http://www.aifd.org for more information about AIFD. For MSU Extension programs in floral design, visit http://extension.msstate.edu/lawn-and-garden/floral-design.