A Winter tree-thief gives me grief this Spring.

Monday 17th March 2014.



Is my emotional attachment to plants weird and unusual? This weekend I finally managed to get over to my allotment after having to leave it to its own devices through the Winter. To my dismay two of my 7 year old fruit trees had been stolen from their pots. Our site is very secure so it could only have been by a fellow plot-holder, which only adds to my dismay. Now I know that it is not unusual for jealous people to pilfer the odd piece of fruit or veg from someone else's plot but to steal two whole trees is taking this to another level! I spent my time digging over the weekend feeling quite awful, wondering which of the other green-fingered individuals there may also be light-fingered. I'm not sure who I should report the theft to. Do I phone the council? Do I try and contact the site representative or should I put a notice up? Is it better just to leave well alone and not attract attention? I'll probably end up doing the later, i.e. nothing, and letting my distrust for my neighbours fester.

What's the big deal? I hear you ask. Can't you just buy some more?
Nearly 4 years ago I had to leave the home I had lived in for the seven years prior to that (due to the terminal illness of my father-in-law). This meant abandoning the garden I had lovingly tended throughout that time. The first property we moved to had enough room for the potted plants I had salvaged and I kept the dream alive that I would get a garden of my own back again within a year or so. My plants came along to the second property we had to move to but when we unfortunately had to move to a third place with a much smaller garden 2 years later I had to put some of my pots on my allotment plot. They are not small pots, weighing a good 5 or 6 stone when they're at their driest, and my husband has often cursed me as I made him lumber and shunt them about from pillar to post.

More time has passed and now a further two years have elapsed. The dream of my own home and garden is rather battered, torn and faded but it is still alive (just). I have lovingly cared for my little potted treasures throughout the last few Summer's heatwaves. I have weeded and watered them as well as putting a lot of physical effort into moving the pots everywhere I go. They have given me moments of simple pleasure and enjoyment as well as marking the passing seasons in their ebb and flow. Their loss has riled me on a deeper level than the obvious annoyance at being the victim of such antisocial behaviour. My plants represent my dreams and hopes for my life: a life that I have had on hold for far longer than I ever intended (whilst my energy was directed into caring for my relatives at a time when they needed help). These trees represented my efforts to make my life fruitful. They give me a connection to the living things in this world that will become more permanent on this earth than I am.

I still have most of my original plants and trees in pots and I know I will buy more fruit trees to replace the stolen ones when I finally get a garden of my own again. I feel so sad that my sweat and toil over these particular trees has all been for the benefit of someone else, someone who evidently does not deserve them. I really do feel as if I am grieving their loss, especially as this is the time of year when they wake up and start to lift my spirits as they burst into blossom. From now on I hope their fruit turns as bitter as I feel towards their owner and that they give whoever has them one hell of a bellyache later this year! There should be no satisfaction in riding high on someone else's hard work and devotion.