Stinton Road couple Joy and John said they were shocked when they went outside last weekend and found a large ceramic pot from their front veranda had been stolen.
John’s prize amaryllis bulbs, once planted in the missing pot, were strewn across the yard, along with the potting mix.
“It held much happiness to my husband, as he would plant the bulbs and wait to see the beautiful flowers appear, with a lot of pride,” Joy said.
Her husband had been in and out of hospital three times since March, and Joy said tending to his plants was one of the few things he still enjoyed doing.
Joy won the pot playing bowls, so she said it was not a matter of money that concerned her.
“Imagine the utter disappointment we felt, especially to him, to open the front door and see the pot gone and the potting mix and bulbs laying all over the front veranda… the silly part is the bulbs were much dearer than the pot,” she said.
According Mandurah’s senior police sergeant Steve Thompson, incidents of garden theft are not very common, but he said people should still be aware that they do sometimes happen.
Mr Thompson said the most likely targets of garden theft were newer houses, but the only way to deal with such incidents was to report suspicious activity to police.
A WA police spokesperson added that common measures for crime prevention such as security lighting, cameras, and fences could help deter criminals from gardens.
