Kid keeps picking flowers from garden bushes - shall I say something?

[Primmyhill]

The last few days a girl, about 7 years old, and her mum have stopped outside my house, presumably on the walk back from school, and have reached over the railings and picked some flowers from some of my hedges. Today she must have picked about 10 and then dropped them in the street while walking off. Am I being petty to be p’eed off? I don’t want to seem like an ogre and upset a child if it keeps happening, but surely an adult should be teaching the child that this is someone’s property and not encourage it. AIBU?

People in the UK seem to feel weirdly entitled to intrude into other people's front gardens, I've noticed.

Peonies? 😡

Probably Dandelions and Daisy's which are OK to pick

It's not on to pick flowers off other peoples plants/ bushes. Only wild flowers.
Next time you see them, just politely say please can you stop picking my flowers! I picked a neighbours flower, just one when I was a kid and got a right walloping! Not suggesting that, but I never ever did it again!

It would annoy me all round, but the dropping them in the street aggravates me. That just shows a total lack of respect. They're not even being picked to take home! Which again would be wrong without asking. I would definitely be saying something about this. It's wanton vandalism. 💐

My Camellia is full of blooms and i am in SW Scotland

This. I would definitely say please don't pick my flowers. Hopefully the mother will be embarrassed enough to make her child stop.

This!💯

I'd deffo have a strong word with the mum. It's totally out of order to pick flowers that don't belong to you and she's just dumping them along the road.

If they pass by at a regular time, just happen to be out in the garden and say something along the lines if ' hello, I've noticed that your little girl is picking my flowers and throwing them away afterwards. Could she not do that?'

This is totally on the mum to sort out.

Good luck

Grow something with big thorns. Firethorn is good

Definitely ask the mother to stop enabling this - the flowers are your property and then they are just thrown aside!

I think every kid in the UK has likely picked a daisy or dandelion clock or buttercup etc... at lease once.

I love the little passive aggressive bunfights over what passes as a flowering bush and what doesn't!

Plenty of flowering bushes in my garden, and the mother was out of order not stopping her child picking them. I'd probably arrange to be out there 'pruning' and ask the mother politely not to allow it as I was trying to grow it, but take the sting out of it by offering the child a bloom or two. They probably wouldn't do it again.

take the sting out of it by offering the child a bloom or two.

As a small child I used to go out for walks with my dad armed with a wildflower book, and I always gathered a little bouquet of daisies and dandelions along the way. I remember on the way home one evening we walked past a garden with a rhododendron bush. The owner of the house was in his garden and he must have seen my bouquet and my eyes light up because he cut off one of the blooms and handed it to me. I still remember him after all these years. So yes, politely ask them not to help themselves but it would be nice to offer the child a bloom.

No, they don’t. The petals drop, but the sexual parts remain to produce seeds.

Can someone explain to me the use of “blossom” as something distinctive, as in, I couldn’t get worked up if it was just blossom?

I’ve always known “blossom” as a collective noun for “flowers”, as in “The camellias were covered in blossom”, not “we have a Camellia, a rose, and some blossom”. So I’m struggling with this thread.

This wouldn’t bother me but as it bothers you I would say something, in a kind way.

If you don’t want to say anything then you could put a sign up so it’s less confrontational.

blossom traditionally is used for the flowers of fruiting trees.
apple blossom
cherry blossom
etc
Even if the tree is ornamental ie it won't produce edible fruit.
There are usually hundreds/thousands of tiny flowers, hence I suppose someone saying they would be less bothered.

Flowering bushes like camelias though have bigger and far fewer flowers. They are not called blossom because it is not a flowering fruit tree.
“The camellias were covered in blossom” is not actually a phrase I would use or have heard, because camelias flowers are not blossom. I would say "the camelias were covered in flowers/blooms)

You're right to be pissed off.

Tell them next time.

If you tell the child lot to pick your flowers and they do it again, I would squirt them with your garden hose, accidentally of course.

Don't do that. That is really weird.

Just ask them not to. No need for signs, sprinklers or jumping out at unsuspecting children.

It's fine to ask them not to pick the flowers!
The small yellow flowers on a hedge sounds like forsythia. I wouldn't get too worked up about that unless she takes a lot, but picking off the camellias is a no-no!

Let us know how you get on, OP

You’re nicer than I am! I’d be tempted to tell them to F off off my property and stop picking my flowers, no 1 you’re trespassing! Caveat, 70s child where some locals would definitely have done this!

Dog trained to jump out?!

Hi OP,

I would put up a sign , they will stop without you having to confront them directly.