Admiring some charming landscaping or a local's vibrant garden is perfectly understandable. But there is a pretty big difference between looking and touching.
Unfortunately for one Redditor, a neighbor took the admiration even further than that. After apparently catching a neighbor taking flowers from an apartment building's garden, the poster took to the Mildly Infuriating subreddit to vent.
The Redditor shared a short video of what seemed to be their neighbor picking flowers from the garden in question.
"So they started a bit of a renovation in our neighborhood and got all the entrances of the apartments small flower beds to make it look a bit nicer," the original poster wrote. "Of course there is always someone selfish enough to ruin it for everyone."
While it can certainly be tempting to pluck a few flowers from a particularly pretty space, the act itself can trigger a number of unforeseen consequences. Depending on the area, picking flowers that don't belong to you could even be considered theft or trespassing.
Outside of potential legal issues, ripping flowers out of the ground could jeopardize the overall health of the plant, possibly affecting its ability to reproduce. Over time, the plant may face challenges to survive. Not only can this cause harm to the garden's ecosystem, but it can also discourage the tending of a garden.
In the comments section, most were in agreement that the neighbor who took the flowers was out of line.
"This is literally stealing and is 100% illegal," noted one. "She's not even just stealing property which doesn't belong to her, she's also destroying it and wasting someone else's time and energy."
"Pulling them too is insane, like at least cut them," pointed out another.
"Yeah, if she vandalizes the flowers you should report her to the owners," suggested a third.
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Should homeowners associations be able to determine what you grow in your garden?
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Yes 💯 Or … you could suggest she start a community garden?
There's something to be said for growing native plants and nutritious produce in a communal space where neighbors can help care for and harvest flowers and fruits for free.
Perhaps the not-so-stealth floral thief in this case, or the frustrated witness, could call for a farming project to benefit both residents and pollinators. If local governments understand the demand for and the benefits of healthy, biodiverse community gardening, we could see more investments in and protections for essential ecosystems.
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