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?

You shouldn’t be allowing your child to do this, non verbal or not.

The yellow ones could be forsythia.
These flowers provide food for early insects and also give rise to seeds and berries which feed wildlife later in the year.

What if they ignore the sign?

I think I covered that in my post?

Hide behind bush with a hosepipe then drench the brat and her mum.😈

I didn’t mean I’d pounce in a scary way so as to startle the child, I’ll just make sure I’m around and would always be polite and non confrontational. If the mother is rude though, then that’s a different kettle of fish!

Well I’m almost at my look post. Will report back!

I can't tell if the posters saying OP should put a sign up are joking or not 😂

This is MN. I'm surprised they are not telling the OP to log it with 101

I was one of the posters who said it and I definitely wasn’t joking.

I assume OP has better things to do with her time than stare out of the window all day and so a sign may be a good idea, just like ‘stay off the grass’ and ‘don’t climb’ etc signs are used.

I would probably just say to them when they pick the flowers it stops the early bees and butterflies from being able to feed on them.

Exactly.

It shouldn’t even have to be said not to take flowers off of someone’s property to begin with, but there are always people who think it’s perfectly fine because it is just a plant, flower, etc until you put a money value on it.

If I had a few spare seeds or came across an inexpensive bulb in a pot I might offer that do that they can grow their own, as well as asking to please stop picking my flowers.

Are they camellias? I’m just wondering what else would be easily pickable from shrubs at the moment.
In any case, I’d def. ask them please not to do it. The mother really ought to know better, but sadly not knowing (or caring) how to behave is all too common now.

Daisy can make a great bruise salve.

On public land it's fine. It's nettle and wild garlic soup time at the moment.

Good idea, the child and her stupid mother might actually realise why they shouldn’t pick flowers then. A bright and breezy “ooh don’t pick them, dear, the bees and butterflies need to eat from them”

Excellent idea!

Cheeky fuckers. Yell out the window that they can pay for flowers from a shop if they want them. Lots of kids want to pick flowers from people's gardens, it's a parents job to tell them no!

I would be raging if anyone touched my peonies! They only flower once a year and take years to get going properly (up to 10). Mine thankfully are in the back garden. One of my pleasures in life was making big bouquets up for my friends.

What happened OP? 😊

"I'm glad you like my flowers, they are for everyone to look at. Please don't pick them."

I also wasn't kidding about a sign at all!

• When I had a skip and people were adding their own rubbish and flinging poo bags in- I added a sign to remind them that I have cameras (despite having the correct signage anyways!) It soon stopped
• I have thornless raspberry and blackberry in the front garden. I had a women bringing her children, with buckets, walking up my drive, and leaning over the other fence into my property and picking the fruit more than once. A sign stopped them too!

Its private property!

yes, you're ight in cherry blossom etc. But taht didn't seem to be how people were using it on this thread. Unless they were thinking of almond blossom which might be out now.

My garden has osmanthus delavayi flowering now.

dress up as a beast and tell the mum you require her youngest daughter in exchange for the flowers.