caught them red handed and faced

Just saw this post Lisa, I'm so sorry that this happened
You have beautiful Daylily garden at your school !!! You and your students do a wonderful job !!!

I would also put up a sign.

Lisa, your plants aren't likely on the black market and even the lowest of home purchasers don't landscape for free. Hit Craigslist for local landscape contractors and mention "lilies". Whoever stole your donated plants is probably seeking some financial gain.Someone stupid, someone easy.

Not to paint a bad picture of good folks but it doesn't seem like a theft that isn't related to someone seeking monetary gain. Heroin addicts don't dig holes, they don't call 911 for their dying friends. Shovel?

If ya'll need some plants for your program I'd be happy to contribute some named varieties.

Wes, thanks for the offer but we are good for now.

embarrassed to admit this but they used MY shovel! I keep a small half-size shovel by the greenhouse so my helper students have access to dig out weeds, it was still there but moved and my main helper said he had not moved it. Needless to say, there is no longer a shovel there.

Oh my gosh, what nerve.

At least they didn't take the shovel!

Good grief!!!

Lisa - Does that make you an accessory to the crime?

well yeah, that sounds like something that would happen to me

I once had 2-3 mini roses I was going to plant at the nursing home where my mother was staying. I left them by the front door to get her to let her watch me plant them. In just that short time, they were gone! The only thing I can wish is that where ever they are, they are growing and blooming their little heads off AND being a constant reminder to the thief that they were stolen.

How brazen of these thieves. How in the world can someone enjoy flowers knowing they stole them????

Just saw this thread, so sorry, Lisa. What will people stoop to? It is almost as bad as stealing grave flowers

The botanical gardens in the city has signs up that their plants have been DNA fingerprinted to discourage theft and cuttings.

Lilydaydreamer said:Thank you again everyone for commiserating with me.

Stan, I think the thief picked and chose based on what was blooming. They missed a couple really nice ones that are not in bloom yet. They took a couple older varieties that bloom well .

Some of the varieties they took include hush little baby, beauty to behold, heavenly fission, lacy doily, Aniakchak, carved initials, mini pearl, double date, little business, Pandora's box, heavenly Star Fire, blush of innocence, exotic candy, and blackberry candy. i still need to determine what is missing from a couple holes as all of it is gone including the tag. I went and checked the garden this morning and even removed blooms from a couple to reduce temptation ( isn't that sad).

As upset/angry/hurt as I feel, I need to put it into perspective. Other than the seedlings, all are replaceable if needed. No one was hurt, the garden was not vandalized and most have a fan or two left that can grow back..... Compared to what I hear and see on the news, this is just a hick up.

Thank you again to my NGA family for the support!
Lisa

You have a great attitude

Lisa, I'll add my commiseration to all your other friends. It is a low blow and a stinky thing to have happened. I truly hope that the people that stole them thought the flowers were going to be dug up and tossed because of the new construction. A place I once worked at dug up all the azaleas around the property and started burning them. It broke my heart and I talked with the people burning them off and asked if I could take some of the less damaged ones home with me to replant. I got a couple of trunkloads of large, beautiful George Tabor azaleas. A car dealership in Tallahassee changed hands and the 20 or so large crepe myrtles were just ripped from the ground so their roots were broken off and so damaged that they would never survive.

This still sucks and it seems like all the love and work you have poured into the garden seems somehow wasted but the lesson you are teaching the students is something that they will carry with them for life and be much better people than they could have been. Empathy is sometimes hard to teach and in this case, expensive too. My heart is with you.

Well spoken, Barb.

Gleni said:The botanical gardens in the city has signs up that their plants have been DNA fingerprinted to discourage theft and cuttings.

Some extremely rare, valuable and commonly stolen plants such as cycads are being "chipped" in order to aid in identification and recovery - a system similar to that used for pets.

Isn't it sad what our society has become.