"George.com" wrote in message
...

"Sacha" wrote in message
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On 2009-06-30 14:55:19 +0100, "Kate Morgan"
said:

My daughter has had her allotment ruined, she grows flowers shrubs etc.
at home and keeps the allotment for vegetables and soft fruit, She is
very keen gardener and competes at local flower shows etc. Her allotment
is or was organic and she grows herbs amongst the veg, I am telling you
this cos it says the sort of gardener she is. However a few days ago
someone put weedkiller all over the plants and yesterday after being
away for a camping weekend she found that someone had pulled up all the
plants and burnt the lot. She knows who it was but cannot contact them,
the fact that the person involved is of limited intelligence makes it
almost impossible to take the matter further. I feel so sad for her :-(

kate

Kate, this is *awful* but she has to find something she can do about it
or it will just be repeated. If this person is as you say, do they have
someone they live with who could be approached?

my first thought as well. If the person is slow, do they have some
supervision or live in a community house, with family etc? If so, have a
word with the person who has authority or supervision. That should put a
stop to similar action befalling someone else. More than that, some
restitution might be possible or at least some sanction. Funny though,
gardening can be therapeutic for patients suffering mental illnesses. A
local group here has mental patients tending community gardens and
apparently the patients get a lot of enjoyment from gardening.

If your daughter is the sort of person who is able to turn the other cheek
(a big ask I realise), and the person with the mental illness is not
malicious but simply misguided, they might even benefit from being
involved in gardening and growing. A big step to take mind, though some
people are capable of showing that much compassion and understanding.

or, if the person is just a ******* and a nasty piece of work, why not
organise a delegation and go and face him down. Get a group of fellow
allotmenteers together, it could be their plot next, and pay a visit to said
vandal. Leave him in no uncertain terms that is he dares to repeat the
action again, or even if such action is repeated without direct evidence he
was involved, his life in your community won't be worth living. One
advantage of a small community is that some peer pressure can stamp out such
malicious activity. Obviously, don't be vigilantes or impeed the persons
rights to live their life peacefully and lawfully. Do however tell them
straight that unacceptable behaviour will not be tolerated. Maybe, if
another allotment gets trashed them something he cherished might go the same
way.

rob