Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Disappointed



We have been doing a lot of work on our front garden of late. We're finally managing to finish something. We tend to take on jobs around the house and then run out of steam before they're 100% finished. I do love the garden so it's not so much work, but it does take time particularly when you're moving barrow loads of little stones.

We've also spent quite a lot of money on new plants as well. The garden that we inherited was heavy on lavenders and roses, which at one time I've loved, but with water restrictions likely to be a way of life we have changed to a native garden. I know lavenders and roses are hardy creatures who never got much in the way of water from me and continued on quite happily, but native makes me feel better, as if we're making the right choice.

On the weekend we had a lovely time with my parents, an extended 70th celebration for my mum and got home around lunchtime on Sunday after 24 hours away from the house. We live in a quiet, conservative area. We know most of our neighbours and although there are a few at times loud teenagers, it's generally without any adventure. When we got home on Sunday, unloaded the girls and the car, when I got to the front gate the thing glaring at me was the fact that someone had removed the prostrate grevillea I had planted in front of our gate only 2 weeks ago. That's the disappointment part. When I say removed, have a look at the pictures, tell me what you think. Firstly I thought it was vandalism, so looked around for a hatefully discarded plant, but found none. Tell me otherwise please, because I really find the idea that someone could steal my plant to put in their own garden, so thoroughly disappointing, I can't begin to tell you. I actually find the idea of it being theft harder to understand than vandalism. And now what, do I plant again?

3 comments:

Pina said...

I also wonder what kind of people live around me. Once a woman cut all the peonies in front of my parents' house and sold them in the market. Many doormats were stolen from there too. Yesterday it was broken into our neighbor's house again. Each year I ask myself how many days my tulips will last before being cut by some passing stranger.

Perhaps you should try planting the same plant again, if you like it. Maybe you will be luckier this time.

(I just wonder, do we both have naughty dwarfs around and in our houses?...)

Lindsay said...

Gosh, that is sickening, but unfortunately very zeitgeisty as I was just reading about this very thing in the paper yesterday! It's happening here too, plants, pots, trees, ornaments, all being stolen, some to order, from people's gardens. It's awful. And today I've just placed a massive plant order for our back yard and window boxes, fingers crossed...

It's so hard to know what to do, plant another and risk having it stolen too? Put something in a very heaving pot and chain it to the fence? Awful, but that's what this article suggested, chaining pots down, security lighting and planting spiky plants around the boundaries of your garden to deter plant thieves. What a sad, sad world.

Anonymous said...

So pathetic. This happened to our neighbor when we were living in Denver. Someone stole their newly planted peony. We suspect it was a landscaping company. A bunch of plants were stolen from a nearby church the same night. Sad.