Am I stealing???

[tifsgarden]

I was walking through the garden center and seeing if there was any good deals going on and I saw this woman "dead-heading" some gerber daisyies and putting them in her bag, her husband told her that was stealing and she said it wasnt because they were just going to throw them away anyway, so why not help them out by making the plant look better and getting seeds for herself? I agreed. My dh told me that was stealing.So what do you think?

 

[seedcorn]

taking something that belongs to someone else without permission is stealing.

 

[dragonlaurel]

In the wild- I wouldn't think twice about collecting some seed. The garden centers have lots of patented plants though. I don't want the plant police coming after me over DNA so I don't buy plants much anymore. I buy seed for the old varieties instead.

 

[nittygrittydirtdigger]

There is a beautiful demonstration garden not far from me. I've often wished I could "pinch" (pun intended) a stem that is out of symetry or a small branch. I've never done it though because I always think of the consequences of what that garden would look like if 10-15 people a day did that.

As for ummmmm....grooming....the plants at the garden center, why not just ask if it's okay to deadhead the plants?

 

[KevsFarm]

I would ask first as mentiond. All it takes is a store manager havin a bad day to get you in trouble for "stealing".
It seems harmless enough, but even though its a dead flower head, removing it and taking it home is taking without permission.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If it belongs to somebody else, I don't take it, whether it is in a store or on other private property. Some stores presecute all shoplifters as a general policy.

In this case, I'd ask a manager. You'll stay out of trouble, likely get a positive result, and not set a bad example for kids that see you.

 

[ducks4you]

Last week I found myself pulling a weed out of a vegetable pot in a garden center. Made me think about compulsions....
I agree, though...ALWAYS ask permission.
Once, at Walgreens, I was looking at some pretty dessert dishes in the clearance aisle. The manager asked me if I liked them, I said that I did, and told me that I could have them ALL for 10 cents each. I bought all 13 of them. Sometimes, by ASKING, you can get a good deal.
BTW, I think when we watch people in power participating in theft, and the like, it almost creates an impulse in US to do the same. I know that I've been there. Better to not do so.
BTW, we in Illinois are enjoying our personal summer programming, "The Blago Files."
http://www.theblagofiles.com/
He's only the second governor of our state(in a row) to go down the tubes.

 

[sparkles2307]

It seems harmless, but I always tell the kids not to pick up the blossoms that have fallen to the ground at the nursery because its not ours.

 

[Whitewater]

To me, it's like the old story (which I had always heard involved Winston Churchill, but probably is really attributable to somebody else!)

WC, talking to a beautiful woman at a social event: "Madam, would you come to my bed for the sum of a million dollars?"

She flutters her eyelashes and looks flattered, replying "Surely, it's not often a woman is prized in that manner!"

Then WC replies, "Would you come to my bed for ten dollars?"

The woman ceases to flirt and looks downright mean, and highly offended. She yanks herself away from WC and raises her hand like she might slap him silly, and retorts, "You offend me! How dare you! What do you take me for!? I am not a whore!"

WC, completely unperturbed, replies, "Madam, it's already been established that you are a whore. Now we're just haggling over the price."

In other words, stealing is stealing. It doesn't matter whether it's a flower from a garden center ("Oh, they'll never miss it, it's such a small thing, they'll never notice it's gone") or a gazillion dollars from a major corporation, or an audacious old-fashioned bank heist.

Or even out of your partner's wallet, bank account, or sock drawer.

Theft is theft. If it doesn't belong to you and you don't ask, you've stolen it.

That said, if you ask the manager of the flower shop/garden center, she or he will probably be more than happy that somebody wants to do the upkeep and maintenance for free, but you never know. They are, after all, in the flower business to make money.

Apologies in advance if my opinion or my post offends.


Whitewater

 

[curly_kate]

I love the story! You're right, probably not Churchill, but that does make for a more interesting tale.