A frustrated homeowner has posted startling security footage that he says shows a neighbor walking up to his property and stripping the peonies from his front garden.
Kevin Guenard, who lives in Calgary, Alberta, shared an image of the unidentified woman on Facebook on Sunday, appearing to pull flowers from the bushes outside his home.
Guenard said blooms had already been taken from his garden the previous week, an incident he initially dismissed as an isolated act.
But he said he was stunned when the same woman, wearing a sari, returned in broad daylight on Friday and came close to his front door before helping herself to more flowers.
“This person has decided my gardens are a source of free flowers,” he wrote.
Kevin Guenard said home footage appeared to show his neighbor taking flowers from his private garden beds
Guenard, a well-known Canadian conservationist and outdoorsman, said he had spent years caring for the blooms
The episode took place in Calgary, Canada, where Guenard says crime and anti-social behavior have increased in recent years
‘We noticed blooms disappearing on [the] peony plant closer to the sidewalk last week. The blooms are all gone on that one so she is coming right up to the front door to help herself.’
The homeowner said he was stunned by what he viewed as the woman’s brazen disregard for private property.
To avid gardeners, flowering plants often represent years of planning, planting, pruning and maintenance, with some varieties requiring considerable care before producing their best displays.
And according to Guenard, the issue goes beyond a few blooms, the woman’s actions raise concerns about where such behavior could lead.
‘I know some would say they are just flowers, but where does it end?’ he wrote.
‘Does she come in back to harvest the garden or apples next?’
For the homeowner, the alleged thefts are particularly frustrating because he says he has always been willing to share the fruits of his labor with neighbors and friends and frequently gives away produce, flowers and lilacs.
‘The difference is they ask or I offer, not just steal and damage plants.’
Picking a neighbour’s flowers is both misdemeanor theft and criminal tresspass
He also warned that improperly cutting flowers can have lasting consequences for the health of the plants.
‘If you don’t harvest or cut flowers properly it will affect next year’s blooms,’ he said.
The alleged incident comes amid what Guenard says has been a noticeable increase in crime and anti-social behavior in his once quiet neighborhood and have left him fearing that standards in his community have deteriorated after nearly three decades of living there.
‘We have had cars ransacked as of late and now this,’ he wrote.
‘Never had this many issues in the 28 years we have lived in this house.’
Expressing disappointment over the situation, he added, ‘It is sad the hard work you do is soured by thieves and those who think it is just OK to take from others instead of doing the work.’
‘Unfortunately this is now what it is like in our once peaceful neighborhood.’
The Facebook post prompted sympathy from other users, with many agreeing that taking flowers from someone’s garden without permission amounts to theft and trespassing, regardless of the value of the blooms.
His post also struck a chord with fellow gardeners, many of whom said they understood exactly why he was upset.
One commenter wrote ‘People don’t realise how much time, money and effort goes into maintaining a garden. You don’t just walk onto someone’s property and take what you want.’
Another added, ‘It isn’t about the flowers. It’s about the entitlement. If she’ll take flowers today, what will she help herself to tomorrow?’
Others suggested placing signs around the property warning that the flowers were on private land, while several urged Guenard to report the alleged trespassing to police if it continued.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Guenard for comment.
