theft!

okay so my partner and i recently bought a house and last year we started doing up the garden. we planted many nice things from wisteria to pansys and everything in between. eveything was coming along nicely startingto root and become esatablished when one morning i went out into the garden to discover that my honeysuckles had been robbed! then a few weeks later a pot with busy lizzies had been taken. following that people were out pulling sweet pea off the plants and then most recently my very small but beautifully formed wisteria swiped. has any one any advice to stop people robbing my plants!

CCTV is the best thing it might deter them from your garden.  Gardens are a lot of hard work and is heartbreaking to see people ruining your plot.

Pyracantha instead of honeysuckle, cactus instead of Busy Lizzies.  Do not make it easy for them.  There are lots of beautiful plants that have to be handled with care and planted wearing gardening gloves.  The odd label with "Poisonous in all parts " might help as well if you think the thieves can read.  The time I got most upset was when i saw a mother holding up her todder to my tomatoes to get at them - stealing is bad enough but teaching a child to steal is even worse.

this happens on the patch where my mum and dad live in Cyprus.  she has to plant into pots as the cats use the ground as their toilet (she has tried all sorts to stop this and now all the ground is covered in big stone) but her loveliest pots are swiped in the night.  this really annoys her as the plants are not cheap over there.  I too get upset if my plants get damaged by stray balls, dogs etc.  I had a fella come and chop the hedge for me and whilst there I asked him to cut a few plants back.  He obviously didnt know what he was doing as he chopped my wisteria to a foot in height.  I had it planted in a metal bin so I could take it with me when I moved....needless to say, it stayed at the old house. 

Luckily I have not had this problem, but one of our neighbours had some pots stolen.

When I renewed my house insurance this year I discovered that for no extra cost, I could also insure my Garden, and items such as furniture, pots etc.   It might be worth considering if the thefts are expensive.