A stolen flax plant. A snatched hanging planter from a front porch on Mothers Day. Mysteriously disappearing artichokes. A handful of Japanese maples ripped out of the ground. A birdbath made off with. Garden thievery is a thriving economy here, it seems.

South Sound gardeners who have been the victims of plant theft contacted me in larger than expected numbers after I wrote last week about the Japanese maple stolen from Deborah Jordan's South Tacoma front yard.

Clearly there are gardeners who need to lament the thefts. I received a dozen e-mails and as many phone calls about various plants, trees, and even a bird bath, that have been stolen from our readers.

So how do you keep plants from thieves? Well, as Connie Skager of Watson's Nursery told me last week, you really need to plant valuable plants out of sight in your back yard. But staking works too. Anchor the plants to the ground and thieves will have a more difficult time pulling them out (but that does sound sort of unattractive). Short of that, good luck. I'm afraid our yards, and our plants, are vulnerable to anyone with bad intentions wandering by.

But I wonder, readers, have you done anything to keep your valuable plants from being stolen? Cement them in? Stage boulders around them? What have you done? E-mail me at sue.kidd@thenewstribune.com or call me at 253-597-8270.

Now, then, a moment of plant therapy. So many readers told me this week they were glad to talk or write about the thefts. Here's what they had to say:

Peggy Duncan: "Yes, while my daughter and son-in-law were away at work, someone stole a special plant right from their front yard. They came armed with a shovel and just dug it out. It was a special flax plant that we took the time to hunt for them at their new home. It was not a very big plant, but it was the only plant someone took. Why would someone go to the end of a road where the houses are secluded and steal plants?"

Cheryl Livingston: "You asked if anyone else had a plant stolen. The answer is YES. I received a beautiful variegated geranium the day before Mothers Day of 2007. It was in a cedar basket and was purple and white. We hung it on our front porch the eve of Mothers Day. I awoke on Sunday morning, headed out to get the News Tribune, and noticed my beautiful basket was gone. I hope some mother or wife had a great Mothers Day since it started my day off on the wrong foot. Thanks for letting me vent and I learned a lesson. Now we hang the baskets out on the day of Mothers Day and not the night before!"

Bonnie Schwab: "I went to McDonald's for my morning coffee and newspaper around 8 a.m. (Saturday Aug. 16). In reading the paper I scanned the article on the stolen Hapanese maple. It caught my interest because I have/had one in my front yard. The reason I say (have/had), you guessed it, one hour I was gone and when I got home "no Japanese laceleaf maple". I live in a gated community so that puts NO BOUNDRIES as to where they will go."

Marilyn Boyle: "Your article in Saturday's News Tribune brought up a very painful subject. I had a very mature Japanese maple planted in a large, expensive Asian pot at the top of our driveway in Gig Harbor. I adored this maple and thought it added so much to ambiance of the entry to our home. One day I came home from work and the entire pot with maple was gone. I could see the drag marks on the driveway. It must have taken at least three people and a truck to remove the pot. I contacted the sheriff's dept and they said it is a very common theft. Needless to say we now place nothing of value at the top of the driveway."

Debbie Regala: I haven't had a plant stolen but did have a birdbath stolen about 2 years ago. It was a large concrete one (3-4 feet tall and about 2 feet in diameter). It had taken three strong guys to place it in the garden on the side of my house in the late 1980's so I was quite surprised when I saw it missing one morning. There was a clear 'path' marking where it had been dragged through the garden, across the sidewalk and across the parking strip. I'm sure this was a planned theft not a random act. It would have taken someone with at least two strong accomplices and a big truck to haul it away. I keep looking but haven't seen it in another yard yet."

Nina Rook: "The first couple of years that I planted my parking strips, whole artichoke plants went missing. ... Late season, full grown. I planted more, and let them go to seed for the visual effect -- but would discover headless stems. I came up with a solution -- eat them myself!"