i had planned to blog about something different today but those plans have changed… so take a moment to appreciate these gorgeous flowers:

beautiful, aren’t they? for many months a small dedicated team have freely given their time, hard work and money to make the gardens surrounding our church beautiful and fresh, and since this summer began we have all been treated to the most gorgeous display of colour and growth, as the calla lilies bloomed amid the strawflowers and alyssum, with succulents scattered throughout.

well, thanks to someone selfish… these photos and a few scattered & trampled specimens are all that has survived a visit from our neighbourhood thief this week.

these flowers have bloomed for weeks to be appreciated by all who visited the church or walked in the grounds… but this morning when we all arrived, clods of soil littered the driveway; and gaping holes torn in the dirt were all that was left of some of the beautiful and lovingly tended beds. at least half the lilies are gone; and many that were not taken have been snapped off at the roots and left laying in the dirt. an entire bucket of growing succulent cuttings has been stolen as well… just to add insult to injury.

this was NOT cool… the lady in charge of maintaining the gardens is heartbroken and has been left feeling very discouraged, and all of us are sad at the damage… i wonder whether the person who took them spared any thought for the unhappiness they would cause with their thoughtless and greedy act? i’d like to imagine that they might feel ashamed, but perhaps that’s just giving them too much credit.