A Dead Flower Causing a lot of Trouble

Posted on September 28, 2009 with No Comments

You would never think that weeding out a dead flower could get you in any trouble. But recently, a woman was threatened with arrest for theft and criminal damage after she pulled out a dead flower from a council-owned border.

Angie Summers, 43, was just taking her lunch break when she decided to pull out a withered canna lily in a nearby public square. She felt that the flower was ruining the look of the display — the flower was about 18 inches in height and very dead.

Later, Mrs Summers was shocked to get a phone call from the police at her home – a passer-by had reported seeing her pick the flower to the town council.

The officer threatened to “put her in cells” and made her very aware of the fact that she could be prosecuted for theft and criminal damage. This type of charge can lead to a six-month prison term.

The charge was eventually dropped by the Wiltshire police, when they admitted that she had acted with good intentions…

[Via: Daily Mail]

Theft of State Flowers

Posted on August 7, 2009 with No Comments

The state flower of Minnesota is truly eye-catching – it’s the beautiful lady’s slipper.

This flower is a type of orchid and has stunning pink and white petals that create a pouch-like shape. But these flowers have been facing problems recently, as thieves have been stealing them.

Even though the theft of plants and flowers is a criminal act, it is an occurrence that has become ever more common in the nation. In southern Minnesota some of the thefts have gone under investigation.

Frank Brunner recently witnessed one of these thefts in his neighborhood, he saw a man and woman get out of a car on a road close to his house, the woman went into the ditch and came out with a handful of flowers.

Brunner said, “I hollered at her and I said, ‘Hey you can’t pick them, those are state flowers!’ And away they went it never fazed her.”

This comes as bad news to the lady slipper as it has already been on a decline with loss of habitat due to development…

[Via: Agri News]