My front yard used to be all Roses and once in a while people would pinch a bloom but I didn't worry about it.
If they stole a potted plant it would be a whole different situation and I'd be upset.
If you're worried about it I'd move them.

Yes I always worry! All of my roses are in the back along my driveway. The area is not included in the fenced in part of our backyard. So far no one has messed with them, at least not that I know of, BUT...I did have 2 rather large potted sago palms and 4 mums stolen off my front porch. I was so mad! They're lucky I didn't catch them in the act!

Our house from the front looks like any other box on the circle.

Our roses out back, well, if they are willing to brave the "PRICKLES FROM HADES" let them knock themselves out.

Yes, I live in Iowa. I know.

I live in an itty bitty town of 1800 so I could probably easily track the theif down...just follow the nose..actually it's a thought in the back of my mind, but not something i really worry about..i have 3 loud dogs so we'd hear it if someone was messing around digging up plants, as far as the ones not planted yet...that's my mother's day present to myself, getting all my new babies into their homes

iowa jade, which part of iowa? that's where i'm from originally

In our other house, someone helped themself to some daffodil blooms and someone picked our tangelos. In this neighborhood, of families of mostly schoolage kids, most of them don't garden at all! They are too busy driving their kids around in huge SUVs and minivans to all their activities. I couldn't even give plants away--too much trouble to dig a hole. Most gardeners here are older folks who wouldn't think of stealing, I hope. I am really not worried. But if I lived in Sacramento, particularly downtown, where everything gets lifted, yes, I'd worry.

Kathy

My sister lives in a very small village..the kind where everyone has chain link fence..but the whole village has known for years that they can only plant their "good stuff" behind their fences, because there is a lady in her 90's, (seriously!!) that goes around at night and just takes what she wants! nobody has the heart to turn her in, so they all just work around her!
Here, though, it's rural, and my dog would pitch a fit if anyone came around, so it's not a worry for me.I worry more about marauding deer and rabbits! Donna

Last year my new mini flora, Butter Cream was stolen, pot and all, and right before Mother's day. That's when I was inspired to drill holes through all my rose pots (none are in the ground) and cable them together with steal.
This year, just this past week, an orange potted lily I had given my wife a couple years before had just re-emerged in full bloom. Had it on the front steps; you guessed it: stolen. The challenge is, we have no full sun spots anywhere except in the front of the house. My son and I are surprising her with two new lilies this Sunday; We'll have to resort to keeping them up on the enclosed balcony while they bloom; then it's back to the back patio until next year.(sigh...) Gee, I really like everblooming flowers--like ROSES!!

I was talking to my brother last night complaining about the cold spring. he has his tomatoes under a cold frame and no annuals planted yet.

We live in the Quad Cities. My neighbor leaves his tailgate down on his P/U, which is an easy target for a few seconds work and no one has bothered it.

When I handled claims I was wary of the big guard dogs, but most of them were well behaved. I would always call first. I only got bit by the yappy lap dogs. Go figure!

There was some booby trapped mailboxes north of here a few years ago. I suppose no place is safe for sure. I felt safe in NYC back in the 50's even though I carried ganster money in case I was mugged.

Not here in the boondocks.
But in New Orleans, roses were stolen as blooms (so I stopped growing HTs where the perps could get them) and even had entire canes of cluster blooming flowers stolen. And the bushes badly damaged.
Never, ever put red roses within reach of the general public unless you expect to loose them.
Here, I grow Chianti right next to the road so the horseback riders can enjoy the scent as they go up the hill.
I like my boondocks.

I never give it a second thought because we live on a private road, have a 6 foot block wall with metal gates around our whole yard and I have 9 dogs, several of which would love to get their teeth into a thief just for fun.
What a bummer to have to worry about some idiots stealing your plants, I'd have to booby trap them. Or have you ever thought about putting motion sensor lights in your vulnerable areas? They also have security cameras that are pretty reasonable.

It DOES stink to have to even think that people would make off with your plants, nothing has happened - yet. I only thought of it because this potted Intrigue was blooming and I knew around Mother's Day is high plant theft time. All my other "good" roses are in my tiny townhouse garden in back, it amuses me to think of someone trying to come over the fence in the dark - I have run lateral climbers along the top of the fence and I really hope any burglar will run smack into the thoroughly vicious Englantyne, with her thorny octopus canes (:

That said, I dream of the day I retire to some small town out in the country where I can line my lot with the thorniest rugosas I can find - and get all those hips in the fall....and get some big dogs too. Where I work, we have even had plants from the office vanish!

I am waiting until all my potted pets are in bloom this summer. Should be interesting. Everyone knows each other here so I am not too worried. Kids DO love to tattle after all. One thing I CAN see happening is if I give a rose (cut bloom that is) to one of my daughers' little friends they will all be lined up. "Can I have one too?" Same reason why we always buy big cheap boxes of Mr. Freezies. To hand 'em out.The roses will be a different matter. As long as nobody helps themselves.

Nope. Nobody's ever stolen anything out of my garden. Had a neighbor who cut a few roses once but I was gonna have to deadhead that bush within a couple weeks anyway. At least they used bypass shears and not anvil or scissors. We also had a pecan tree at that house and never found anybody picking the nuts, either.

We have a lot of citrus in the neighborhood and most of the homeowners encourage others to pick the fruit hanging over the wrong side of the fence. None of us want roof rats which are attracted to citrus.

Of course, it's common knowledge in this area that anything left sitting on the curb in front of your house might as well have a 'free' sign on it so you don't put anything close to the street that you ever want to see again. Doesn't work with just everything though .

I had some prized Cacti and Succulents stolen from my front driveway. These were mature plants worth quite a bit of money. A Jade "Gollum", Golden Barrel and a couple others. I kept them out front to get maximum sun exposure. All were at least 10-15 years old. I drove around the neighborhood several times looking for them. No luck....scumbags!

We am blessed to live in a place where we can still leave the doors unlocked, the keys in the car, and we have on occasion forgot to close the garage doors at night and went to bed. When we woke up the next morning, the only thing missing was birdseed or corn...and I suspect the thief was not human.

What mother would be pleased to learn that her Mother Day's Rememberance gift from her child was stolen from another?

I often worry about the disgrace that would accompany getting caught, how it would affect my children, my job, my life...

... oh wait, nevermind.

:)

M