A gardener who worked for years to cultivate a yard full of sunflowers came home to find someone had cut them all down.
Chris Bank, of St. Peters, Missouri, turned to sunflowers in that longest of years, 2020, as KSDK reported. He became an expert, buying dozens of varieties and cross-pollinating them. This year, as in the past, he planted 600 of the flowers in his front yard over a month, meticulously devising a bleacher formation so the different colors and sizes could stand out.
"I grow every one of these from seeds, and then I have to transfer them to the ground," he told the station.
One day, he came home to find they had all been wiped out. His security camera showed a woman had stopped her vehicle in front of his house and used scissors to decimate the pollinator-friendly landscape.
He called the police, who investigated and identified a subject by mid-July, according to the outlet.
"All that work," Bank told KSDK. "I would have rather her start breaking out the windows in my car than doing that because then I can just send that to the auto body and have them fix it. I know they're plants, but they're still living."
This is just the latest problem Bank has encountered on his journey. The second time he planted the sunflowers, his homeowners association reported him to the city for violating an ordinance that all yards must be 50% turf grass.
Similar hurdles popped up again in 2022 — and again in 2023. He has not caved. The city says it's acting on residents' complaints, though Bank argues he is not overstepping the law.
This year, no grievances were filed with the city, though one was illegally lodged directly on Bank's lawn.
"I'm upset and angry but also hurt," he told KSDK. "I cannot imagine the excuse it would be for this to be OK in [their] head."
In the spirit of supporting bees, birds, and other wildlife with a wild yard — and fighting back against arbitrary HOA restrictions on eco-friendly and money-saving choices by homeowners — Bank said he will keep planting the sunflowers as long as he's able.
All but perhaps one neighbor are glad to hear it.
"This house was a local treasure that made my day every time I drove past it," someone wrote on a Reddit post about the crime. "I am devastated about this."
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