ypsi~dixit

What a weird thing to steal -- hosta are so plentiful and divide so nicely. Orchids are one thing -- but hosta??

"Hostas Held Hostage: A Variegated Story Rooted in Fact."

"The neighbor of one of my clients had a poorly pruned juniper stolen from their foundation plantings. Funny thing is, the thieves not only stole one of the most ugly plants in the world, pruned in the most hideous fashion, but they also carefully backfilled and raked the soil over the spot. No crater. They tried to make it look like the plant was never there! Hmmm.... maybe these weren't thieves, maybe it was the beautification committee...." From here.

Now this line is funny: "Harshberger said a police officer saw Feiner carrying plastic bags and sweating profusely."

So where was he selling the plants? Standing on a streetcorner, hissing "Hey, wanna buy a hosta?"

Psst! Yeah, you. I gotcher begonia right here, pal.

Hah! The visual of this man, sweating profusely and carrying plastic bags of hosta is too funny.

On a serious note, I do think the penalty should be stiff -- we don't want people running around stealing landscaping -- stealing is stealing whether it's plants or car radios. And I'd have a heart attack if I saw some weirdo sweating profusely with plastic bags hacking away at the plants in my yard.

"Black Market for Hot Hostas Withers"

Is stealing a hosta the same as stealing a car radio? I had the idea that this man, who is homeless, perhaps thought that plants were a small thing to steal and could be replaced easily by the homeowner.

Well, I'm a terrible gardener, so for every plant that has survived, it represents about $1000 worth of my labor...

"Owner of Thousand-Dollar Geranium Seeks Lengthy Jail Terms for Sticky-Fingered Green Thumbs." :)

Heh.