The unexpected visitors or trespassers to my garden

Most of the people who come into my garden are there because they love plants.

But not all of them are invited.

This summer, I had a few unexpected visitors, even trespassers, who certainly weren’t there only to admire the peonies and lilies. Some encounters were funny. Others were less amusing. A couple left me wondering what goes through people’s minds when they see an open expanse of garden and decide it is an invitation to wander in.

Here are two stories from this past summer. They were very different encounters, and my reactions to them couldn’t have been more different.

The marathon runner

One afternoon this summer, I was in the garden with a friend when we saw an older man running down my driveway.

My friend looked at me and asked, “Do you know him?”

“No.”

I called out, “Hello! Can I help you?”

He didn’t stop. He waved at us.

He was a very thin man, probably in his late seventies, with white hair pulled into a ponytail. He was dressed like a marathon runner, in very short running shorts and a camisole, and he had the determined, rhythmic stride of someone in the middle of a serious workout.

Except that his workout was taking place in my garden.

He greeted us and continued around the borders, following the paths between the peonies. And when I say he was running, I mean running. He was doing a proper marathon-style circuit around the garden. I told him that he shouldn’t be there.

He kept running.

I told him he had to leave.

He kept running. Finally, he explained that he simply enjoyed running here.

Here?

That made me wonder if this was perhaps not his first visit.

The peonies were at their peak, so I could understand enjoying the view. But I had never imagined that my garden might double as a running course.

I told him again that he had to leave. That this was a private garden, a private property. Not a running course.

His response was that it was nice to look at the flowers while running.

I suppose everyone has their own way of enjoying a garden.

The wannabe flower thief

This was a much less pleasant encounter.

The lilies were at their peak this summer. Two friends and I were sitting under the apple tree, chatting and enjoying the garden. From the road, we were quite hidden by the trees and planting.

Then a car drove into the driveway and stopped beside the peony garden.

I walked toward the car. As the young man got out, he seemed surprised to see me. His girlfriend was still in the car, apparently ready to get out.

He asked if he could buy some flowers for her.

I told him no. I explained that I wasn’t a florist or a flower farmer. This was my garden.

He looked around at all the flowers and asked, “But why would you have so many flowers?”

I remained calm.

“I don’t have to tell you why I enjoy looking at the flowers in my garden.”

He then asked if, since I wouldn’t sell him any, I would give him some.

Again, I said no.

Then he told me that he had stopped here before and had walked around the garden. He said that he could have stolen some flowers then.

And then he added that maybe next time he would.

I was shocked.

So were my friends under the apple tree, who had heard the entire conversation.

I told him that we had cameras.

He eventually left.

In retrospect

To the marathon runner, thank you for the laugh. I have told that story again and again, always miming his determined run around each border. It still makes me smile.

But no walking, no running. This is a private garden.

There were also a few other encounters this summer, among them very few unpleasant trespassers.

One woman drove up to the house and asked my husband the name of the gardener. She wanted to hire him to create a garden like mine at her house.

Well, that would be me!

Sorry, Mrs., I’m not for hire. One garden is all I can manage!

And then there was the woman who stopped by and politely asked if she could ask me a question:

“Why do you do this?”

Ahhh. That is the subject of a completely different post!

The encounter with the young man who wanted my flowers was another matter altogether. I found it genuinely disturbing. It made me think twice about how visible the peony garden is from the road, even though it is a few hundred feet away. I love sharing its beauty with friends, and even more with garden club members who come to visit. But not with everyone.

It’s time to make it more hidden and more secure. I live in the countryside, in a very safe community, and I have never felt particularly concerned about security. But my road is a busy thoroughfare, with a steady flow of traffic during the day.

I am planting shrubs in a completely new border in front of the last peony border, still about a hundred feet from the road. As they grow, they will create a screen on the side of the garden facing the road, a fourth “wall” of sorts. I am also looking into adding more signage and improving security, including cameras.

In 4 Tips for Protecting Your Land from Trespassers, an article I came across about protecting private land from trespassers, the recommendations include clear signage, cameras and physical barriers. It also makes a point that seems particularly relevant here: preventing trespassing is much easier than dealing with it afterwards.

Perhaps a little mystery isn’t such a bad thing.