People have an "entitlement" problem... really... they see something they like, they are entitled to that... when I was a youngster, I remember my mother yelling at some man who came into our yard to steal our walnuts, he brought a bag and everything! His reply to my mother was "Oh, I didn't think it'd bother you". Around here, I don't put anything valuable in the front... a friend of mine had a medium sized brugmansia stolen... so now he tries to use these huge pots with cement blocks in the bottom. Probably won't work.

Last year I caught 2 women in my front yard digging up a large Agapantha...with their own shovel, mind you !!
I've also had some nice painted sprinkling cans (as decorations) stolen from my front porch. That's why my front yard is mostly shrubs, trees and grasses. Everything else is in the backyard, and its gated ! I can't imagine the nerve either. A real gardener would not do that !!

You know what I find so scary? It's that all these people would be seriously offended if you called them "thief!" Where did this sense of "entitlement" come from? It's not just garden things that are appropriated by "innocent" people.... it seems to be anything that someone else wants.

My friend who runs the WPA Rock Garden in William Land Park in Sacramento says she comes to work to find her choicer plants dug and gone all the time. Since she is supplying them for a public garden out of her own pocket, it is especially galling. What's really disturbing is the thief only takes the valuable stuff, which means he or she is probably an experienced gardener. Wouldn't you think an experienced gardener would understand what another gardener's garden means to them and would respect that?!!

Unbelievable!! I'm so sorry for those of you whose plants and other items were stolen. The only thing taken from our front yard is a couple of baby Impatiens ripped out by crows, and the pumpkin from our front porch. But no plants......... yet. I just can't imagine someone doing that!!

I too don't understand the sense of entitlement that exists today. I don't think parents literally teach that, but somehow people are not learning they're not entitled to everything they want, so it's pretty much the same thing.

I am one of those people who took some thing from someone's front yard.

A couple of streets over some one had a Santa Rosa plum tree planted on what is their side yard but it is outside their fenced back yard on a side street. I started picking up the fruit on the ground for my Calif. Desert tortoise ( these are her favorite and at the time I did not have a tree).

My rational was the fruit I was picking up was bruised or split and I really did not think any one would be inclined to actually eat it. I would only grab about 4 or 5 each day which is what my tortoise can consume in one day.

I have also picked hibiscus for her in a commercial site where 10 or so blossoms would not be noticed or detract from the shrub. I also buy her full price lettuce, plums and apricots from this business site and have not asked for free lettuce scraps for her.

As my own garden has matured I do not need to pillage the local streets and commercial landscapes as much.

In all other cases where I have seen some thing in someone's front yard that I wanted for my or my family's consumption I have asked the home owner for permission and have always been received warmly and graciously.

I think fruit off the ground is not the same as fruit off the tree...plus fruit on the ground can become messy as it rots.

At least you have the consideration to ask before removing anything from a tree!

We get small plants stolen all the time from the parking strip garden. But the worst was the time that a year old jacaranda tree was dug up and taken, stakes and all!

I have caught my neighbor stealing from me, as well as others. She is starting a nursery business, and has sticky fingers with plants. She creates grand bizarre scenes & goes to great efforts to undermine me & others when I/they gripe about it. She and her counterparts sneak onto others property when they are not around, & they are very manipulative & hard to stop. I have moved all my valuable plants to the back, & am in the process of chaining & locking up the trunks of the plants that are most valuable. I have installed a monitor  just to protect my plants. It is no fun living next to thieves.

Whoa, baci, isn't your neighbor breaking the law? I hope you get some hard evidence on your monitor!

I thought people who owned nurseries had to somehow have "rights" to even sell the plants and/or propagate the plants; how is your neighbor obstaining those "rights" if she's stealing?

In Auckland, New Zealand, the theft of expensive palm trees has gotten to the point now where the landscapers plant GPS modules in the trees so they can be tracked!

Sad isn't it that things have come to this stage.
I am sure judging from the people who used to stop and ask me about plants and then expect me to dig them up a piece in the middle of summer, had we not built the fence when we did, we'd be missing many.

baci - can you rig up a webcam or two and see if you can catch your neighbour at it?

This problem makes you think less of people in general which is not fair but is understandable. We have a small museum here that is funded and operated by volunteers. I like to help with the grounds by planting colorful blooming plants. I have learned just how far people can reach over the fence to pick flowers and in one case to break off a trellis. Because the planting area is narrow my planting has to be quite limited to accomodate this "reaching area". Al

I have avocado trees that line a rural road for about 1/2 mile. For some reason, those trees never have as much fruit as the ones further away from the road.

For some reason people reason that if you have a lot of something, it doesn't matter if they take a few. I tell them to cash their paycheck and ask for 1 dollar bills... then because they have a lot of them, they can send a couple my way.

I had a few narcissus flowers plucked off this Winter. Now I'm worried that my Mariposa Lilies are in danger of being plucked as well.

Aloha,

Nathan Lau
San Jose, CA

#include (std.disclaimer)

After reading similar posts several years ago, I decided to keep the front yard very simple. Most of the yard is planted with ribes vibernifolium that is finally coming into maturity. This plant is shade tolerant and drought tolerant, so it's a good companion for the Hackberry tree. Against the walls are rosa Darlow's Enigma (who is so small he wouldn't inspire any thief - and when he becomes mature, the flowers are quite small), two climbing hydrangea and mondo grass. The brugs are behind a wall in the courtyard and I've not had any problem there.

I've also come to appreciate the secret garden idea. No one would imagine what goes on the back yard from what they see in the front. It's my haven and I share it with friends...

Ack! The little girls in the neighborhood are always asking to pick my flowers! Well, at least they ask....

I've told them that if they pick them, they will die, then no one will be able to enjoy them. So what do they do? They pick a lily out of my elderly neighbor's yard and stick in in my front yard drain. Hmmmm, how sweet.

I live in So. California on a busy street with lots of neighborhood kids walking to school and people walking in general - once in a great while someone will steal a rose - but rarely. I can imagine how frustrating and disheartening it would be to have flowers (and even plants) stolen from your yard on a regular basis.

I'm not feeling like such a grump today. I don't think I would mind if kids picked whatever was blooming at the street. In fact, I learned to expect it after the daffodil disappearances; I moved all daffodils to the back.

What gripes me is the deliberate removal of every single bloom, even the ones by the front door. Luckily grape hyacinths are inexpensive so perhaps this fall I'll plant a bunch more in the backyard where they will be safe.

Amazingly, no one has touched my Dutch iris. I think they are more beautiful than the muscari. I remember the first year the muscari bloomed, I had no idea what they were. We had just moved in (December 2001) and, a first-time homeowner, I was beginning to get my feet wet as a gardener. I remember the amazement I felt at how much impact a tiny plant had...especially as it was the only thing flowering. Maybe whoever took mine saw them in a similar manner. Admittedly, our street is relatively devoid of bold color; perhaps this is the reason. Regardless, I'll continue to grow my perennials all over the front and plant even more whenever my backyard plants need dividing.

Thanks for sharing everyone :-)

I MAY have been chastizing the wrong culprit!!!

Today I found a bunch of bunny droppings on the front porch. Now, I can't say as I'm happy to find them but I know one neighbor lets their bunny "buffet" in the neighborhood yards. Now I know he's had the audacity to come up the walkway and onto the porch.

I've seen the bunny nibbling bits of my plants here and there, perhaps the bunny nibbled my grape hyacinths...

I don't know much about bunnies but this is a big, white one and he goes out in the morning. He's pretty shy but seems comfortable having the run of the yards. Darn him for being so big, hungry, and cute!

-Melanie, who prefers the bunny to all the dogs that run around

There are some amazing stories here.

I think I'd be pretty upset if entire plants were being taken - or even all the fruit or flowers.

On the other hand, I have deadheaded marigolds that weren't mine, for the seeds. I've taken a few weeds from public lands (wild fennel, wild plantain) for the butterfly garden. I've probably done other things like this, but the scale was similar -- Weeds and deadheads.

Oh yeah, one of my neighbor's vines comes into our yard, as does a blue hibiscus. I snipped some of the vine that was in my yard, in order to root it. I haven't snipped the hibiscus that hangs into our yard, but I have thought about doing so. I think that's legal. ? Our neighbor trims our trees when they go into his yard. I think he's allowed, although it saddens me that our redbud is flat on one side.

Anyway, the flip side is that some kids pick the flowers off our succulents. They wander through a small part of our yard (on a hill, eroding the hill as they climb around on it) and have even carved their initials in one of our trees. It might bother me if they did that to the point of harming the tree or some such ---- but as it is I remember being a kid, and how much fun that sort of exploring was. I'm sure I ruined a few plants when I was a kid, in good funn with no ill intent. And when those kids grow up, it will be nostalgic to see their initials on the tree. But they aren't doing much danmage, and these aren't prize plants.

One neighbor begs us to pick her prolific berries, anytime we want.

I see dropped fruit all the time - and think about picking it, or even wonder if I could grab the odd lemon that hangs over the wall .... this would be stealing. But, I wouldn't mind people doing the same from my trees if it were not too much. I like the idea of a community, and sharing.

I think it's a matter of crossing a line. Digging up someone's tree is outrageous. Good heavens! That is theft, no two ways about it.

Patty, yes legally you can trim/prune the neighbor's branches, vines, etc that extend over the property line on to your property. You can cut them back to the property line. The only thing you cannot do is prune your neighbor's tree so severely that it causes the tree to die. That goes for pruning the tree's branches or its roots (if you were digging). Certain trees indigenous to CA are protected and cannot be touched by anyone without a permit. In my city those trees are CA Live Oak, and sycamores. If your redbud is flat on the side where your neighbor prunes it, I'm sorry to say that the tree was planted too close to the property line. At least the neighbor doesn't ask you to pay for the pruning!

At least here in Nevada, property rights are very clear. If you mark your property with a fence, or even fence posts painted bright orange at the appropriate intervals, or create any other kind of clear boundary, anyone uninvited inside the boundary is automatically deemed to be tresspassing. A pretty little wicker fence is sufficient.
A hedge is sufficient. A picket fence is sufficient. Fenceposts with a wire strung across them are sufficient.

If they do any damage to your garden, they can be prosecuted for that, as well. If they remove things from your garden (flowers, statuary, vegetables, whatever), that's an additional penalty.

I have had to call the police and prosecute for tresspassing because I have some truly obnoxious neighbors across the street. They didn't like having to go to court, I guess. The police also told me that I was within my rights to electrify my fence if I so chose (it's chain link), since it's inside the property line. I am now, since the neighbors have been warned, within my rights to use whatever force I deem necessary to prevent them from retaliation and/or further harassment while on my property. Pretty cool, huh?

I do lose a few flowers, usually bearded Iris, in late Spring, but overall people tend to avoid my very heavily-planted front yard (and the back is securely fenced) even if they aren't my idiot neighbors across the street. Maybe it's all the thorny plants (agaves, cacti, species roses...) that line the chain link fence area?

Lisa

This reminds me of yesterday's story in the news about the man who shot and killed his teenage neighbor after the boy continued to walk on the man's lawn after being asked to stop. Apparently the man put up with this for about 5 years even though he asked the boy and others to stop. He says he had run-ins with the boy's parents too. Otherwise, he lived a quiet life and was a good neighbor.

Now, shooting the boy is totally ****WRONG**** and totally disproportionate to the "crime". That said, did the parents ever ask their son to just respect the man's request and just stop walking on his lawn? I'm assuming they didn't since he continued to do so. What a tragic situation for all parties involved.

Typical... once again, more evidence of the "entitlement" problem in our society... I want to do it, there for I have the right to. He doesn't want me on his lawn? Too bad, I want to go there!
I had a roommate once, who appalled me. He trespassed onto a neighbor's land, a large lot, who had a rope swing over a lake... broke his arm on that swing, and his parents sued the landowner for daring to have an "irresistable" hazard on his property!!!! Holy MACARONI! This really upset me.
My BF has a pool... he had to warn all the neighbors that it wasn't fenced... so if their kids broke in and drowned, he wouldn't be held responsible. This is just too ridiculous for words.

"...did the parents ever ask their son to just respect the man's request and just stop walking on his lawn? I'm assuming they didn't since he continued to do so."

One quick comment -

Some parents are responsible and try to point out to their children the difference between right (respecting someone else's property) and wrong (trespassing). And some children are just plain defiant, no matter the consequences.

Don't ask me how I know this. :)

Brenda

Wait until you have a $6,500 dollar Sago dug up out of your front yard (Bakersfield) while you are away for the weekend...then you will know anger. It's interesting how many people had stopped by prior to this and asked if they could have it...directly, as if I was just going to say yes. I eventually moved out of that area, primarily due to this theft.

I think Californians must adopt a whole new style of Landscaping to prevent theft.

crumbo: a few years ago there was an article in a professional landscaping magazine on how to chain down yard art, benches, urns, etc. AND valuable plants so the protection either couldn't be seen or wasn't very noticeable. They actually ran a chain thru' the root ball. In the case of a large super valuable Sago Palm, they snaked chains throughout the surrounding soil and above and around the root mass to prevent digging. Some of the ideas sounded rather over-the-top at the time, but, as this and other threads have pointed out, perhaps they weren't as far-out as they seemed.

Crambo, that's AWFUL! I suspect that horticultural ignorance/apathy keeps even my front garden fairly safe from theft, although hardly safe from damage by the above-mentioned neighbors.

I've wanted to get a large piece of sculpture (I just haven't found the "right" piece yet) for the front yard, and I've known all along that I'll have to bolt/anchor/chain it down to prevent it from being blown over by the daily gale here, prevent it from being knocked over by bored adolescents, or being stolen by lord knows who.

What makes it "legal" for me to go after the neighbors if they come onto my property again is that 1) they have been warned by the police, then 2) cited by the police for trespassing a second time, and 3) the problem individual is now 18 years of age and bigger than I am. That means that the problem individual is a young man who can be presumed to be up to no good and presenting a clear threat should he choose to be where he has been told NOT to be, both by me and by the police.

There won't be reports of a shooting in the news, btw--I don't own a gun. There COULD be reports of someone bludgeoned to death with a shovel, though...

Lisa