I know some folks were wondering what was going on at Presby, and I promised an update today.

Today I visited and found the following.

It appears that there was vandalism on two separate days: first they attacked a mature bed, and could not pull the rhizomes out; however damage was done by chopping off the leaves down to the rzs. They came back the following week and attacked two newly planted historic beds doing greater damage. about 175 rhzs were ripped out and tossed about. Some were deliberately mangled and some were not.

All have been replanted in a new 'unknown' bed, awaiting bloom and identification. Most can be replaced either by others in the garden or are commercially available.

The few that are not, we will have to see if they bloom in the unknown bed next year. Perhaps we can find some private sources. There is a $ 1,000 reward (I think being offered by an anonymous friend of Presby) for the capture of the guilty parties. So if you see the 'iris killer' lurking in your iris beds, you know what to do. It is generally believed there were more than one perpetrator.

Damage was done at night or early morning before dawn.

They left nothing behind except a can of beer.

The community support and publicity has been overwhelming. There has been much press coverage. Montclair is a place where there is a great deal of community pride.

Hopefully this will wake up and challenge the community to the point that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

I think what happened at Presby is not unusual. It seems like a universal fact: where there is beauty, be it art, nature, or whatever, there are always a few who will destroy it for the sheer joy of seeing it destroyed.

I am angry but I also feel sorry for them; that inside they are so full of hate and low esteem that they vent their frustrations on the good things in life.

Presby will not be defeated by this act of violence. It would be a sad state of affairs if the iris were locked up behind an iron fence, to be guarded from the very community that once created it out of love.

I believe Presby will be restored, bigger and better than before.

As things progress, I will keep you updated.

Laetitia