Welcome to What I Want is All That Matters.

Manners.

Maybe you should put up a sign that says Mind Your Manners.

Or maybe Mind Our Manners.

How awful! I'm so sorry! A few used to steal armloads of cut blooms and many canned and planted roses from my old Newhall garden and that was in a GATED community with a staffed guard gate! Since then, I won't plant anything, anywhere the public can access it. The best "neighbors" are those behind tall fences/walls and strong gates!

>(I think she was in shock!), and then scurried to her house without saying anything<

Yep. Shocked that you chased after her, and shocked that she could not just help herself without consequences being possible. Again, What I Want is All That Matters - she wanted your flowers, and that was all she needed to know.

I meant to post a pic of the row of roses I talked about - it is the long row of white roses on the left of the sidewalk here:

Jackie

Of course, the roses along the sidewalk present as public property because of where they are. Never mind that a body is not supposed to make a bouquet for their own personal use out of a rose bush in a public setting either. And the neighbor did scurry away when you appeared. Scurried away like an animal such as a cat or a deer might do. Showing again that socially connected thinking was not involved.

I must add that, in the 35 years we have lived here, I have only had trouble with people on this very busy sidewalk two or three times, and never as bad as the incident I related. Usually they ignore the roses, or start taking pictures of them. If it is in the middle of the Spring flush, there is frequently a lot of OOHing and AAHing, and then if I am nearby I invite people to come in to see the rest of the garden. Occasionally I have been there when a small child will pic one flower, and the mother will start apologizing, at which time of course I tell them that the child can have all the flowers they want (they usually only want the first one).

Jackie

When DD was a toddler, I dealt with her wanting to touch (and pluck) flowers etc. by teaching her to touch with ONE FINGER. Then she could touch to her heart's content, but she didn't pluck. As I recall it worked well.

Sorry for your rose, Malcolm! And for the behavior of your visitor!

Sorry to hear this, Malcolm - soooo frustrating.

I helped maintain our local public rose garden for years (some years back) and theft of plants was a perennial problem. Mostly, people stole blooms off the HT's (after all, its a public garden, IE: everyone's personal cut flower supplier!) but there were many miniatures planted in raised beds, and these were frequently stolen. The whole plant! The variety 'Black Jade' was especially problematic and we sometimes had to replant it more than once a year (we tried to keep four plants of each variety). We gave up planting 'Black Jade' because it was impossible to grow one to maturity.

I think of this scenario whenever someone tries to tell me that "all gardeners are good people!"

At least she did not shoot you, Jackie, when you confronted her. I would have a hard time liking her after what she did.

So sorry Dr. Manners. What gall.

We had people steal blooms, here. But in the public garden we helped to plant and maintain, they stole several plants.

My first thought was plant theft. Sorry for the loss of first bloom. Darn.

In NOLA I learned never plant red roses next to the side walk and singles and The Fairy are seldom stolen (until someone broke off a whole cane of blooming Betty Prior.)

I didn't mind much if someone snipped off a bloom or two of an abundantly blooming rose as they walked past on my sidewalk, but taking that much material is just nuts! Who the heck would do something like that?

One thing that people always grabbed out of my yard in Seattle was the carnation Chomley Farran -- it was pretty wild looking, and I guess people just can't resist picking something like that. I like the idea of making a garden equivalent to a "little free library" ("little free cutting garden"?) and labeling it clearly as such. Would that keep people from thinking that they can grab everything else with impunity? Who knows. Next time I live in a place with a sidewalk I might try it (and keep my Chomely Farran, and the like, well away from the sidewalk, lol!!)

With millions of them out there now it seems likely that whole plant theft will be undertaken at least part of the time by narcotics addicts looking for something attractive they hope to sell for drug money. If this seems preposterous consider that a Wal-Mart located in a notorious drug alley section of a city in my state has razor wire at the top of the fence enclosing the outdoor part of the garden department. Of course, posies aren't the only items they display within this enclosure but the basic situation remains the same - garden and garden related items proved to be enough of an enticement that the store management obviously felt that they had to put razor wire on top of an already high fence. So that the store looks like it is a federal prison when driving by.

" I like the idea of making a garden equivalent to a "little free library" ("little free cutting garden"?) and labeling it clearly as such. Would that keep people from thinking that they can grab everything else with impunity? "

It's a generous idea, but I suspect that would only be interpreted as a "free for all" situaion by some. Give people an inch and they'll take a mile, as the saying goes.

It doesn't matter what the socio economic class of the neighborhood is, if something is out where "the public" can access it and it's desirable, it IS subject to theft. Plant a fruit tree, grape vine, a tomato plant out where people walking down the street can get at it and you are going to experience people helping themselves to the fruit. It's the same with "pretty flowers". There is simply an element in Society which figures if it's there, they can reach it, it's fair game. If you really valued it, you would have made it inaccessible to their grasp. Sad, but all too true.

"Plant a fruit tree, grape vine, a tomato plant out where people walking down the street can get at it and you are going to experience people helping themselves to the fruit."

I was astonished one time to walk out of the house to discover a couple (likely in their mid/late forties) in the yard, picking apples off one of the trees in front of the house! I was so flabbergasted by what I saw that it took me a few seconds to parse what was actually happening. Of course, they manufactured some lame excuses about thinking they were on public property etc, etc. Now, bear in mind they had to come nearly half a mile off the main road down our (clearly marked) private driveway to get to the apple trees. I could barely believe the nerve of this pair.

We installed security cameras not long afterwards.

Two years ago in April we found security camera footage of an older man on our property, gathering a huge armload of Daffoldils out of the field next to the house. I printed a still photo from the security footage and laminated it and posted it at the gate near the entrance to the farm - a kind of "hall of shame". I wonder if he ever saw the photo of himself, stealing Daffodils, while it was posted there.

Every time I see or hear of something like this, I pray that it won't happen again, but it does. Over and over and over. And every time, I fail to understand the mind set. I'm pretty naive, I guess.

Such a shame that people would act like this! I think a lot of people are simply not brought up to respect others and their belongings. I remember when I was a tiny kid, maybe 5 or 6, I went into the neighbor’s yard and picked some flowers. My mom made me go over to the neighbor's (well, she went with me), fess up to what I’d done, and apologize. I’m sure I wasn’t very happy about it at the time, but I’m SO grateful to my mother for teaching me the lesson that you have to take responsibility for your actions, and you can’t just help yourself to whatever you want. I’m sure it wasn’t a fun lesson for her to teach - she was a very very loving, soft-hearted, and wonderful mom, and I’m sure it was hard to see her kid cry (which I’m sure I must have done) etc. But kids are not born knowing this stuff; they have to learn. I think a lot of people grow up thinking they should absolutely get everything they want. I don’t have kids myself, but I’ve done some teaching at the college level, and I have to say, a lot of the kids have a sense of entitlement that I found frankly shocking. Their parents really are NOT doing them any favors.

After all these years living in this world, I am still sometimes astonished at the range of human behavior. Fortunately it isn't always appalling. I take care to remind myself of occasional acts of generosity, courage, and selflessness so as to guard against becoming discouraged by acts of thoughtlessness, callousness, or as in this case, greed.

So sorry to hear that this happened!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praedial_larceny

I’m very sorry this happened , Dr Manners. I think what is most poignant is this theif was someone who knows their roses, and is an avid gardener. After all, your plant was not blooming, and the person had to recognize and specifically want Pulich Children, a relatively rare and obscure variety. I’d have hoped that someone that understands rose gardening would be especially mindful of another gardener’s treasured plant.

K S

I had to look up Chomley Farran Dianthus, and now I must have it, lol. I’ll buy it, of course And Luckily Annie’s carries it.

@BenT (NorCal 9B Sunset 14) I'd suggest such a targeted theft represents an act of someone much more specialized than an "avid gardener". The thief KNEW what the rose is and they STOLE a lot of propagation material from it. WHO does that?

"The thief KNEW what the rose is and they STOLE a lot of propagation material from it. WHO does that?"

I can think of a variety of terms to describe what kind of person does that, but I can't use that kind of language here. And yes - the perp was someone who knew exactly what this rose was and wasn't willing to let anything like ethics get in their way of acquiring it. No point in trying to shame that person - they don't know what shame is. They got what they wanted and I'm certain they're pleased.

Paul -- That said it all.

After the spectacularly stocked Lohbrunner Alpine Garden at the University of British Columbia was opened the visiting public stripped it of many of the more coveted kinds. So that the University changed the layout of that part of the Botanic Garden making it so the rock garden area was no longer wide open to nearby parking.

Similarly, the Alpine House at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England ended up being outfitted with surveillance cameras some time ago now. And when a couple of us walked through it in 1994 there also appeared to be posted individuals standing inside the structure and keeping watch.

That's just . . . sad.

Yes, it IS sad.

its the mindset of human greed. I've had plants and flowers stolen though I happily give away so many to anyone who asks. Why the strong desire to take something? Were not supposed to be adversaries on this world. No little baby is born with the desire to gain advantage over someone else. We are best when we are sharing, cooperating, showing kindness and empathy. Greed, selfishness, violence, war diminishes us. To learn to share and appreciate without the desire for possession or dominance is being lost in this i want it all now world. There are some people who want everything and they are making it dangerous for the rest of us. It is the question of our time. It always feels bad to have this happen. Theft gives negative feelings and sharing gives joy.

I hate to see this happen to us. why cant humanity break free of this affliction of greed?

Kitty, I think the better phrase would be "addiction to greed". For the past 50+ years, we've been telling ourselves that we can have whatever we want, and its made us very hungry all the time. Want, want, want. Take, take, take. I'm frequently disappointed to encounter the "gimme, gimme" attitude which is often so clearly on display in our society.

I am really sad to hear about this - it seems pretty clear that the thief is rose savvy to know what to take. I frequently visit a large public rose garden and I think I've caught people trying to take cuttings - I hover; they stop acting suspicious.

Very sorry to read about this Dr. Manners. I have a Pulich Children plant from a Sac Cemetery sale, and would imagine the thief may have robbed the public from experiencing this rose's lovely flowers for a year.

I'm thinking there may be bands of PC showing up for sale on some Etsy shop in a few months...

That it is a shame. Maybe a temporary protection could be installed while it tries to recover. These stories remind me of my own..I planted a flower and tomato garden near the sidewalk but still on our property... Most people admired the flowers and left them alone but there was one older man who took ALL the tomatoes. I never got to taste one! I got so frustrated that I ripped all the tomato plants out. After all I'm not going to weed and water just for that guy to take ALL the bounty. He'd also walk his German Sheppard dog by it to relieve himself and I'm pretty sure he was the same one who would throw his bags of dog poop in the garden. It would smell so bad in the summer decomposing. Maybe the guy had some screws missing. I don't know. We've since moved from that property and learned that the current owners just planted grass there instead. I don't blame them. In your situation, I wonder if a pretty sign could be posted "Please enjoy the roses but do not cut them" would help, a little at least.