Oh Arlyn -- I'm so sorry. How totally upsetting. People just don't understand the affinity we have for our plants -- the care that we take in our selections, and planting. And how long we wait for that reward, the bloom. All they see is a plant. And take perverse pleasure in stealing/destroying it.
One Spring, after I had spent a great deal of time re-doing my Iris bed along the riding arena, the Irises were finally beginning to bud up and bloom. I went out one morning to cut a couple of blooms to take to a friend -- and found one entire plant pulled up out of the soil and thrown into the yard. The bloom stalk was gone. Someone had obviously admired the flower (my beautiful *Blue Reflection*), tried to pick the stem and yanked the whole plant out of the ground. So they jerked the bloom stem off, and discarded the plant. I was so mad. If they wanted the flowers -- all they had to do was come up to the house, and I would have cut a stem for them. And offered them a rhizome so they could have one of their own. From then on, I plant my more common Irises near the road, and keep the really great ones up near the house. If they're gonna try to steal blossoms, they're gonna have to risk getting caught!!
