'I blamed neighbours for stealing my flowers until I learned baffling truth'

Daily Mirror

4 days ago

A woman shared a video on TikTok in which she claimed her flowers were being "stolen" from her garden, but people were quick to tell her that she was blaming the wrong people
When you've poured your heart into nurturing a flowerbed from tiny seedlings to lush greenery, the crowning glory is witnessing your blooms burst forth in a riot of colour. But one gardener has lamented her inability to savour this moment, as an unknown thief seems to be swiping her flowers just as they're set to blossom.
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Heather Hoopes Seid took to TikTok with a video alleging that her blossoms are being "stolen" straight from her garden. She's noticed that her flowers consistently vanish on the cusp of blooming, with the stems appearing to have been "cut". The US-based gardener initially suspected a neighbour might be creeping into her patch and snipping her flowers for their own vase.
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In her footage, she expressed her frustration: "We have these really cool flowers in the front of our yard, but we can't see them. You know why? Because somebody keeps cutting them before they bloom."
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She went on to reveal: "This whole plant was about to bloom, and somebody just cut off the tops."
In a bid to deter the mysterious blossom bandit from targeting the next batch of buds, Heather erected a small sign. She even placed a pencil beside it, inviting the perpetrator to explain their fascination with her flora.
She concluded: "[The sign] says, 'Are you cutting these? May we ask why?'"
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However, commenters were swift to point out that her sign was unlikely to yield any results - as the true perpetrator is probably deer, who are notably unable to read or respond to written requests.
Multiple users identified that Heather's blooms are daylilies, which deer find irresistible, particularly the flower buds before they open.
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This would account for why the flowers never reach maturity whilst the remainder of the plant stays intact.
One commenter observed: "Those are daylilies. The deer always eat the buds before they bloom. If you have deer, plant something else."
Another chimed in: "Do you have deer where you live? They're like cotton candy to them."
Meanwhile, a third suggested: "[Get a] camera. They are cheap. It's also an odd place to cut them (for a human).
"Looks like something a deer would do. But I can't get a good look at the flowers to see if it's something they'd eat."
Another helpful user recommended that if deer are indeed responsible, Heather might consider planting varieties they tend to avoid, including lavender, yarrow, echinacea, beebalm, and specific varieties of allium.