Wet Sunday.

Interesting point you raise about in Britain, displays being stolen from front doorsteps.

In many parts of East Anglia I wouldn't recommend placing anything too nice in the front garden ~ pots, hanging baskets, ornaments. They'll soon disappear and end up being sold at car boot sales somewhere, so virtually vanishing without trace. Even back gardens aren't immune. Sheds are not safe - broken into and robbed of mowers and tools

But I look at photos from other parts of the UK and overseas, and it seems garden items on doorsteps and front yards are not considered vulnerable.

Has anyone had garden items stolen? Do you feel safe leaving 'garden goodies' on show where they might be too tempting for thieves ?

Hi,I boought some heavy green cast iron chairs and table, they were on the block paved area at the back of the garage, someone stole them, by lifting them over a six foot high brick wall and carrying them over a field! So we are well aware of having anuthing "decent" on show at the back or the front. Our Police don't want to know if things are under £500.00 in value.

I like to grow those gourds too. I haven't done it this year though.
What a shame you'd get things stollen from your front door. I know a house where they have a large pot by the front door and they've secured it with a chain.

Marge ~
how shocking to have the cast iron furniture taken. I guess, to aid their climbing, the burglars stood on some of the chairs !

There seem to be two types of robbery ~

Spur of the moment thefts are quite commonplace, where opportunists grab the smaller garden items.

The planned heists are more scary, when larger items have been spotted, and definite planning is needed to remove the items followed by a quick get-away !

Hywel, good idea to secure pots where possible. I have a couple of ornaments chained in the front garden, and also a light which comes on for a brief time when anyone approaches the house at night.

Over recent decades, car boot sales have not helped because it is such an easy way to sell on stolen goods. :o(

I've never been to a car boot sale. I always wanted to go to one. I never thought of the goods as being stolen. Perhaps I'm yoo trusting or something.

Sadly, small rural villages are also targeted. The second year we were here, several houses had sheds and outbuildings broken into, and we were among them. The thieves went for garden tools like hedge trimmers, chain saws and petrol lawn mowers.

The local police said the groups went round first to see which sheds etc were sited away from the houses and then came back over one night with bolt cutters so that padlocks were useless.

What these scum do is to go into the towns, knock on doors and offer to do gardening. They 'knacker' the stolen tools, then throw them away and steal another lot the next year!

Oh everybody, how sad reading this blog has made me - I'm definitley in a timewarp and seem to be remembering UK as it was before I left in the 70s and cannot believe that so much crime is happening today - what has happened to the days when you could leave milk bottles on the doorsteps ?? The only "thievs" then were little birds who would poke their beaks in the foil to pinch the cream ....

What on earth has contributed to this decline - sad, very sad

Terry60 ~
I guess there were few car-boot sales back in those days to make it easy for thieves to sell on their loot.

Yesterday I uploaded a photo taken almost 20 years ago of butterflies flocking to a sedum. A beautiful sight. In East Anglia that's not such a common event now.

Yes maybe TT - but didn't we used to have jumble sales where people would sell what they no longer needed or wanted ?? OK I appreciate there is a different destination of the proceeds but I can't seem to remember there ever being any problem of "recycling" stolen loot then ?

When car-boot sales first began, they were like large jumble sales. Folk selling their unwanted items. Then, sadly, as with many things, the criminal element moved in.

In a large field with hundreds of cars, as opposed to smaller jumble sales, I guess it's easier to set up and sell stolen items unnoticed. Some of the car boot sales are really huge - thousands of cars.

Well TT all I can say is that it's a flippin' shame and very sad

Replies to Wet Gardening:

Hi, sorry I brought on sad feelings telling you about things stolen from our garden. We live in deprived area with a drug problem.

We just have to change our thinking and work round it.

When I was young and we went on holiday, mum would leave the door unlocked, "in case some one came round and they could make themselves a cup of tea".

I think this blog site is wonderful, there are so many friendly people to "talk" to, it is very encouraging.

Happy Gardening. Love Marge.

Hywel~haven't been down to the boot sale in Singleton hospital for a while but used to get good value pots and plants plus the odd bits of glass and china~ best to go in April and May!