Gardener left in tears after ‘disgusting’ $300 act

A student and home gardener is “devastated” after finding dug-out holes where she once lovingly planted flowers, leaving her $300 out of pocket and crying from the shock.

The woman had decorated the entrance of her small business with vibrant flowers in Ropes Crossing in Sydney’s west, however overnight an unknown offender appeared to have dug up the flowers and taken the lot for themselves, with the woman in disbelief when she spotted the aftermath on Thursday morning.

“Overnight someone has destroyed my newly planted garden… Apparently we cannot even have a garden at the back without people being absolute scum and taking what is not theirs!” she wrote on social media.

She explained the $300 it cost her to plant the flowers had been a big investment, and now being empty-handed was disheartening.

“The garden didn’t even last a week… I cannot stop crying,” she said.

Plant theft common in Australia

It isn’t the first time an Aussie has lost a plant or outdoor flowers thanks to a thief, with another woman in Sydney recently learning her neighbor was the culprit behind the fate of her lost plant.

Last week an error from an Australia Post worker meant her parcel was delivered to the wrong address, with the resident finding her lost plant tucked behind a corner outside her neighbor’s property — ending an 18-month-long mystery.

Back in 2021, a family was forced to erect a handwritten sign outside their home in a desperate plea to have their stolen plant returned to them, explaining the ashes of a relative had been planted in the soil.

Some have even gone to expensive lengths to track down and call out thieves stealing their plants, with residents in Adelaide putting Apple Airtags on their plants after burglars were on the loose for months.

On social media, people called the Ropes Crossing incident a “disgrace” and, in an attempt to comfort the student, said “karma will come for them (the thief).”

“They’ve not just stolen money value but the joy your garden brought to you, and everyone who passed it,” one woman wrote.

Do you have a story tip? E-mail: [email protected].

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Youtube.