Wicker Park Resident Victim of Plantnapping (original) (raw)

Neighborhood Tue Jun 25 2013

Wicker Park residents may have spotted an unusual banner hanging at Damen and Augusta over the weekend. In big orange letters, it read "Return my plants, They're sick." Gapers Block reader Friday S. was behind the sign, and emailed us to explain what was going on.

During the shower storm last Friday I took two tree size plants, a five foot tall oleander and a four foot tall Pointy Ficus outside. They were covered by a winter's worth of scale and dust and I hoped the rain would wash them off.

An hour after the shower finished I went downstairs to bring them back up. But someone had taken them and left mounds of dirt. According to the real estate agent, whose office is next door, a young man with a light beard driving a light blue volvo station wagon had asked him if they belonged to him. When he responded that they probably belonged to the store next door the young man said, "No, they're part of the community trust. I'll take them." He already had them packed in the trunk.

I threw a shouting fit for five minutes and threw a broken fan down the stairwell but then furiously made the sign in the photo. On the left side, barely visible in the photo, it reads "hey you, in the light blue volvo." barely readable on the right side is, "they need special care. my two trees!!! ring my buzzer, it's the bottom one or email me, csavathp@yahoo.com."

So, there you have it. If you took those trees, or know who did, get in touch with their rightful owner so they can be taken care of. And if you have plants of your own, be careful where you leave them, lest they be plantnapped.