I live in a terrace house which directly fronts the pavement of the
street. Three years ago I put three stone window-boxes on the window
sill at the front of the house to brighten up the house and the
street. This year, for the first time, someone has stolen one.

What can I do to secure them? Are there any off-the-anti-theft shelf
systems I can buy from a gardening centre or DIY shop?

Many thanks in advance for any suggestions.

wrote in message
oups.com...
I live in a terrace house which directly fronts the pavement of the
street. Three years ago I put three stone window-boxes on the window
sill at the front of the house to brighten up the house and the
street. This year, for the first time, someone has stolen one.

What can I do to secure them? Are there any off-the-anti-theft shelf
systems I can buy from a gardening centre or DIY shop?

Many thanks in advance for any suggestions.


Brackets at the back to secure them if possible, but the best way is to
drill through the bottom of the window boxes, hammer action masonry drill
VERY VERY VERY slowly and carefully, hardly any pressure, then line the
holes up on the window sill and drill that. Concrete the head of a bolt into
the window sill and fix a washer and nut inside the window box. Disadvantage
is that you have to make the window box up and dismantle it all in situ :-(

Mike


--
The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal Navy
Reunion Bournemouth August/September 2007
www.rneba.org.uk

Many thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Put them on the upstairs window sill and plant trailing lobelia etc.

Geoff

writes
I live in a terrace house which directly fronts the pavement of the
street. Three years ago I put three stone window-boxes on the window
sill at the front of the house to brighten up the house and the
street. This year, for the first time, someone has stolen one.

What can I do to secure them? Are there any off-the-anti-theft shelf
systems I can buy from a gardening centre or DIY shop?

Many thanks in advance for any suggestions.

You could try painting your postcode on the end or the window side. It'd
make it unsaleable, so they might just leave it behind.

Burglar alarm systems include pads which will sound the alarm if they
are no longer in contact (it's what you use on doors) - you'd put one on
the windowsill and one on the box - you'd have to worry about
waterproof-ness

I suspect the best approach would be to use low-value boxes at the front
of the house.

FWIW I had a (full) water butt stolen a few years back.
--
Kay

On 13/5/07 18:32, in article , "K"
wrote:

writes
I live in a terrace house which directly fronts the pavement of the
street. Three years ago I put three stone window-boxes on the window
sill at the front of the house to brighten up the house and the
street. This year, for the first time, someone has stolen one.

What can I do to secure them? Are there any off-the-anti-theft shelf
systems I can buy from a gardening centre or DIY shop?

Many thanks in advance for any suggestions.

You could try painting your postcode on the end or the window side. It'd
make it unsaleable, so they might just leave it behind.

Burglar alarm systems include pads which will sound the alarm if they
are no longer in contact (it's what you use on doors) - you'd put one on
the windowsill and one on the box - you'd have to worry about
waterproof-ness

I suspect the best approach would be to use low-value boxes at the front
of the house.

FWIW I had a (full) water butt stolen a few years back.

Someone in a neighbouring village bought a big granite trough a few years
ago. It took a forklift and three men to put it in position in her garden.
Two days later it was stolen overnight and she didn't hear a thing.


--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
(remove weeds from address)
Devon County Show 17-19 May
http://www.devoncountyshow.co.uk/

FWIW I had a (full) water butt stolen a few years back.
--
Kay

I know water through a meter is expensive, but stealing water is taking it
to a new extreme? I wonder if they spilled any while carrying it :-)
--
David
.... Email address on website http://www.avisoft.co.uk

"David (Normandy)" wrote in message
...

FWIW I had a (full) water butt stolen a few years back.
--
Kay

I know water through a meter is expensive, but stealing water is taking it
to a new extreme? I wonder if they spilled any while carrying it :-)
--

Bit difficult to remove one set of butts. 5 are linked together
:-((................ low down :-(

Mike


--
The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association if you served in the Electrical Branch of the Royal Navy
Reunion Bournemouth August/September 2007
www.rneba.org.uk

On May 13, 9:44 am, wrote:
I live in a terrace house which directly fronts the pavement of the
street. Three years ago I put three stone window-boxes on the window
sill at the front of the house to brighten up the house and the
street. This year, for the first time, someone has stolen one.

What can I do to secure them? Are there any off-the-anti-theft shelf
systems I can buy from a gardening centre or DIY shop?

Many thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I think if a thief sees something you have that he/she wants, then
they will take it. One Christmas day evening, we were sitting in the
drawing room with family and friends and I went to the door as the
knocker was rapped. Nobody was there but a wreath, a beautiful wreath
with live ivy, hellebore, holly and red satin ribbons was ripped off
the knocker, where it was tied on (we also had a doorbell). I was so
upset to think that somebody would do that and at a time when they too
should have been at home with family and friends, I have never put a
wreath on my front door in England since then.

In France, when we are there for Christmas, I put a similar wreath on
our gates, at the end of a drive, and nobody touches it except to
admire it.

Also in England when we lived in the City, we had a Victorian urn, by
the front door, absolutely full of flowers and trailing plants. I was
woken up one night by a loud "chink". The next morning I found out
why, somebody had tried to steal the urn but it was so heavy, they
only got about 2 paces before they dropped it.

We secured it after that by putting a steel rod through the middle and
knocking it about a foot into the ground. I suppose you could put a
rod through your window boxes through to the windowcill and then
secure it with a nut underneath the cill?

On May 13, 6:32 pm, K wrote:
writesI live in a terrace house which directly fronts the pavement of the
street. Three years ago I put three stone window-boxes on the window
sill at the front of the house to brighten up the house and the
street. This year, for the first time, someone has stolen one.

What can I do to secure them? Are there any off-the-anti-theft shelf
systems I can buy from a gardening centre or DIY shop?

Many thanks in advance for any suggestions.

You could try painting your postcode on the end or the window side. It'd
make it unsaleable, so they might just leave it behind.

Burglar alarm systems include pads which will sound the alarm if they
are no longer in contact (it's what you use on doors) - you'd put one on
the windowsill and one on the box - you'd have to worry about
waterproof-ness

I suspect the best approach would be to use low-value boxes at the front
of the house.

FWIW I had a (full) water butt stolen a few years back.
--
Kay

How big was the water butt????? Was it stolen from the house you live
in now?

"David (Normandy)" writes

FWIW I had a (full) water butt stolen a few years back.
--

I know water through a meter is expensive, but stealing water is taking it
to a new extreme? I wonder if they spilled any while carrying it :-)

It was during the water shortage ;-)
--
Kay

" writes
On May 13, 6:32 pm, K wrote:

FWIW I had a (full) water butt stolen a few years back.

How big was the water butt????? Was it stolen from the house you live
in now?

Usual largish size - about 4ft tall and 24-30 inches diameter. Same
house as we're in atm - it was at the back of the greenhouse. No idea
when it went - I was sitting down the garden one day when I thought
'didn't we used to have a water butt there' ;-)

They're all postcoded now, and well tethered.
--
Kay

wrote:
On May 13, 9:44 am, wrote:
snip
I think if a thief sees something you have that he/she wants, then
they will take it. One Christmas day evening, we were sitting in the
drawing room with family and friends and I went to the door as the
knocker was rapped. Nobody was there but a wreath, a beautiful wreath
with live ivy, hellebore, holly and red satin ribbons was ripped off
the knocker, where it was tied on (we also had a doorbell). I was so
upset to think that somebody would do that and at a time when they too
should have been at home with family and friends, I have never put a
wreath on my front door in England since then.

In France, when we are there for Christmas, I put a similar wreath on
our gates, at the end of a drive, and nobody touches it except to
admire it.

Also in England when we lived in the City, we had a Victorian urn, by
the front door, absolutely full of flowers and trailing plants. I was
woken up one night by a loud "chink". The next morning I found out
why, somebody had tried to steal the urn but it was so heavy, they
only got about 2 paces before they dropped it.

We secured it after that by putting a steel rod through the middle and
knocking it about a foot into the ground. I suppose you could put a
rod through your window boxes through to the windowcill and then
secure it with a nut underneath the cill?

the truly sad thing is this happens over here as well......I heard of a
woman who had a very impressive garden that was accessible to people
slipping into and stealing the crops. She stopped the thefts cold by
placing a very readable sign in the garden that stated simply that there
was ONE row of contaminated and poisoned plants growing and that whoever
stole the vegetables or fruits growing were doing so at the risk of
stealing the contaminated and poisoned foods. Nothing was
stolen..........(you COULD do this keeping in mind which row or which
plants were the bad ones gbseg great idea.........)

madgardener up on the ridge, back in Faerie Holler where even the cops
don't know I'm back here.........so my containers sit undisturbed and
uncarted off.............overlooking English Mountain in Eastern
Tennessee where we're locked into a DROUGHT and are in a red burning
warning at the moment since Florida and parts of Georgia are on fire and
we're not too far away to worry (no rains enough to prevent the dry
stuff from starting, especially since the dead leaves are still on the
trees and shrubs from that hard freeze weeks ago and only now are the
trees and shrubs recovering with new growth)

On May 16, 2:58 am, madgardener wrote:
the truly sad thing is this happens over here as well......I heard of a
woman who had a very impressive garden that was accessible to people
slipping into and stealing the crops. She stopped the thefts cold by
placing a very readable sign in the garden that stated simply that there
was ONE row of contaminated and poisoned plants growing

My husband wanted to put a slight electric current on our front door
after that happened. Fortunately, he realised that the postman would
not be amused by it.

madgardener wrote:
I heard of
a woman who had a very impressive garden that was accessible to people
slipping into and stealing the crops. She stopped the thefts cold by
placing a very readable sign in the garden that stated simply that
there was ONE row of contaminated and poisoned plants growing

Which reminds me of an old joke about a pumpkin farmer who was suffering
similar thefts who left a sign saying "I have poisoned 5 of these pumpkins"
only to find the next day that the thief had left his own sign saying "and I
have poisoned 8"

Tom

On May 16, 2:29 pm, "Tom" wrote:
madgardener wrote:
I heard of
a woman who had a very impressive garden that was accessible to people
slipping into and stealing the crops. She stopped the thefts cold by
placing a very readable sign in the garden that stated simply that
there was ONE row of contaminated and poisoned plants growing

Which reminds me of an old joke about a pumpkin farmer who was suffering
similar thefts who left a sign saying "I have poisoned 5 of these pumpkins"
only to find the next day that the thief had left his own sign saying "and I
have poisoned 8"

Tom

Ooer! Now what would you do? Leave another sign saying "I have
poisoned the lot, help yourself"