home & garden special
Plant Theft
Casualty of City Living or Reportable Crime?
Article and Photos by Heather Schoell
M y neighbors had two
out of three rose
bushes stolen after a good
flowers from Frager’s under
the porch bench was stolen
before they had a chance to
rain. At just after 7 a.m., the plant – but that wasn’t the
police knocked on our door atrocity.
to find out if we heard or saw Sandra and Ed moved
anything, which we had not. here from Seattle, by way of
The heavy rain had made Connecticut and then Ohio.
pulling the bushes out of the A flourishing spider plant, a
ground that much easier, and gift from a friend 10 years
the thief had swiped the two ago, accompanied them on
closest to the gate. It was a their moves. The plant had
shame because they were started small but grew large
such pretty yellow roses. In and was well-tended for 10
fact, just the afternoon be- years. Ed had it hanging
fore the theft, two men had from a beam of their cov-
stopped to admire them. ered porch but recently took
it down one afternoon while
That’s Life in the cleaning. The next day they
noticed it was gone.
Big City “I don’t know if you’ve
Stolen plants are a part ever been burglarized, but
of city life. Google the topic, if they don’t mess up your
and you’ll read laments from house, you don’t know right
Sandra and Ed standing where their spider plant should be.
San Francisco, New York away,” says Sandra. “That’s
City, Denver, England and how it was with the plant.”
so on. Check the local list- In the grand scheme of life,
servs, and posts from present day to years ago alert neighbors to plant thieves. she recognizes that it is not the end of the world, but it did have real sentimen-
Sergeant Christopher J. Micciche of the Metro Police Department’s 1st tal value. “It’s like a bracelet from sixth grade. It’s not worth anything, but if
District Crime Reduction Team offers this advice: “I would tell every citizen someone takes it, it’s like ‘well, there goes sixth grade,’” says Sandra. Then there
to take sensible steps to place all of their property in less-than-easy-to-reach is the feeling of violation that someone would intrude into their private out-
locations. If you are placing a plant a good distance from your house but close door living space, a well-kept porch with seating to view their remaining gar-
to a sidewalk or alley, obviously under these circumstances, that may be a bad den. “How rude,” she says, “that someone would just come up here like that.”
idea.”
And was my neighbor right to have called the police to report stolen plants?
“I have frequently heard citizens say that when they are victim of a minor Tips to Avoid Theft
crime, they do not want to tie up the police taking a ‘trivial’ report,” says Mic- Garden thieves will take what they’re going to take, but you can make it a
ciche. “However, a theft is a theft, and it is certainly reportable to police. More little harder for them.
than likely, the telephone reporting unit can take the report over the phone.” • Plant ornamental flowers closer to the house than the street.
• Take note of shopping cart-toting individuals in your alley.
• Plant thorny or otherwise inhospitable varieties.
Now It’s Personal • Avoid planting “pickable” flowers close to the sidewalk (e.g. tulips).
Janet, a resident of the 1400 block of Constitution Avenue NE, had $800 • Buy rooted flowers and plants only from licensed vendors.
in plants ready for her landscaper to install. Unfortunately, someone in the al- • Light your garden to avoid nighttime plant liberation.
ley watched as the plants were unloaded into her backyard, and the following
morning, Janet was plant-free. Heather Schoell is a regular contributor to the Hill Rag. She can be reached at
Sandra and Ed live on the 300 block of 16th Street NE. Last year a flat of hschoell@verizon.net. ★
88 ★ HillRag | September 2008