Finally the daffodils have sprung officially, and I made a couple of pix of the 9.11 memorial area Handsome Son, Handsome Partner and I planted in the fall of 2011 in memory of the people who died on that day. Each spring we are so thankful for life and how it returns, and all the daffodils people planted to celebrate the life of Handsome Partner, all over the world, are there dancing along to the melody. I added in a picture of giant daffodils in front of a garden chair -- I planted these long ago on the patio when I was overhauling it, at HP's request for "those great big ones, the REAL daffodils". He meant the King Alfred variety, so I was happy to plant them and see them come up faithfully year after year.
Once in a while there's a jarring note -- as this morning when one of my neighbors ran out to the 9.11 plantings in the trees and forcibly stopped a woman from digging up entire daffodils, bulbs, foliage, the lot, and then to the woman's amazement, made her return the bucketful she'd taken, so we can replant! the culprit insisted that these were "public flowers" that she could dig and take. Yeah, that'll work. And said she planned on reporting this to the HOA. My friend happily encouraged her to do so! then perhaps she will learn that there's a difference between common areas and free for the taking areas! so some of these daffodils will be in another home soon, when we replant after they've recovered from the shock.
Meanwhile my friend investigated and found that this woman had already stolen a few and planted them around her home! I guess in the end they can be seen and enjoyed by everyone but dang it's annoying to have larceny of this barefaced sort. I understand gardener's larceny, having appropriated a few little cuttings of my own, but the ethics of the situation are that you do nothing that stops the growth of the plant. In fact my little prunings are good for it. I don't dig up the entire thing!
And then I remember that this kind of incident is one of the rough dark threads in the shining shawl of life, and we move on.
Beautiful daffy-down-dilly's - so nice to see as I listen to freezing rain hitting my window. I can't believe the audacity of some people - what did she think gave her the right to dig plant up anywhere she wanted. Lucky indeed that your friend was able to put a stop to it!
ReplyDeleteBeen through the same thing with plants in our last town home complex. Some people have quite the sense of entitlement. Alternately, we had a problem with children picking flowers to take home to their moms. That included Heather, running up the stairs with a handful of beautiful tulips and daffodils...of course everyone and their sister saw her pick them. J in Cowtown
ReplyDeletenor do you dig up a spring blooming plant in midbloom! my word, what nerve. she sounds as if she was just too cheap to buy bulbs and plant them when they should be.
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