Gardening is a very relaxing hobby that requires a lot of patience and love. Avid gardeners put a lot of time and effort into growing their plants, and feel overjoyed when they see the fruits of their labor. If the plant gets damaged, destroyed, or taken away, it can be a very painful experience for them.
This is what happened to a man whose beautiful Lithodora got stolen. It pained him so much that someone would do that that he launched a hunt for the culprit. Folks were captivated by the case of the stolen flowering plant.
More info: Reddit | Update
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The poster shared that someone had stolen his Lithodora plant and that he was going to check his video feed to find out who it was
Since many people were invested in finding out who stole the flowering plant, he let folks know that an elderly person had swiped it
It seems like the elderly stranger had planned to steal the plant and waited for the perfect opportunity to take it away
The man explained that the older woman didn’t seem like a local and that maybe she was from the neighboring village and had seen his plant while attending church
The guy wanted to find out more about the woman, so he decided to ask around in the village and check in with the priest, who was his friend
The poster ended up getting a new Lithodora and increased the security around it in order to keep it safe from plant-stealing strangers
The man’s love for his plant clearly showed through his actions because he put in a lot of effort to find the plant-swiping culprit
It’s clear that the man loved his garden a lot and had made painstaking efforts to make sure all his plants grew well. He had cultivated his beautiful Lithodora and loved how it stood out in his yard. The flowering Lithodora plant takes 1-2 years to bloom, and it requires a lot of patience from the person growing it.
Once the OP saw that his plant had been swiped he was livid and felt a strong urge to find the person who committed the crime. He vented his frustration to people online, and many gardeners also sympathized with his plight.
It might seem like plant lovers are obsessed with wanting everything in their garden to be perfect. Most folks may not understand the pain of seeing a flowering plant destroyed or, in this case, stolen. It comes from the care that the person takes to cultivate each seed or flower right from the start. That’s why it makes complete sense that the poster was so hurt by the incident.
Stealing plants isn’t a new phenomenon; it’s actually something that people have been doing for a long time. Sometimes, it could be because folks don’t want to put in the effort to grow the plant or because they think the particular one could be valuable and they could sell it. Unfortunately, they fail to consider the pain they might be causing the gardener.
To get a bit more insight into this situation, We reached out to Donal McEvoy, the owner of Pergola Nurseries. He stated that “no gardener would steal another gardener’s plant. Gardeners love to share plant joy and knowledge on how to grow.
“[They] share knowledge about plants and love to share plants that they have propagated, or they may share a cutting or a division of a perennial. This keeps rare plants available if a gardener’s plant dies. If the plant dies, they can get it back the same way from a gardening friend,” he added.
The OP went through his video feed to learn who had stolen his Lithodora. He learned that it was an older woman who had carefully taken the plant when nobody was looking. His curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to find out who exactly she was by checking with folks from the village and asking his priest.
It seems like the elderly woman had eyed his plant for a while and decided upon a plan to get it for herself. People who do things like this don’t tend to think that they are doing anything wrong by stealing a plant. They might even justify their actions by saying that it’s a part of nature and can be grown anytime.
To prevent such things from happening again, the poster decided to make rings around the base of the Lithodora and attach them to wooden signs to make it harder to uproot the plant. He also thought of placing needles in the soil to poke any person who tried to swipe the plant, but he decided not to do that.
Experts say that gardeners should make use of security cameras or motion sensor alarms that can help alert them to thieves. Keeping the plant in a secure pot or area that can be locked up can make it harder for people to swipe it.
When we asked Donal what a person can do if they want a specific plant that someone else possesses, he said that it’s best to “ask for a cutting or a divide of the plant, or advice on where to buy one. Good gardeners love to share plant knowledge and plants.”
Luckily, a Lithodora can be replaced, but the time taken to grow and care for it can never be returned. Hopefully, the man is able to find the elderly plant-stealer and confront her about her actions. Maybe it will push her to grow these plants herself instead of piggybacking on someone else’s effort.
Folks suggested many ways the guy could protect his garden now on from thieves
