Our patio garden with newly installed goldenrod and yarrow

Our garden includes a variety of pollinators, a birdbath, and a birdbath as well as a terracotta saucer that holds birdseed from time to time. (Note the hummingbird on the Adirondack chair.)

Our goldenrod had grown to about five feet tall over the summer.  I nurtured this keystone wildflower.  We were looking forward to the golden burst of blossoms to come. (See the lady cardinal having a rest on the bird box.)

However, somebody came along and yanked the goldenrod--without word or warning.  The beautiful green array behind the birdbath and birdfeeder were gone.

Since the spring, I had been nurturing the goldenrod emerging in my patio garden.  This wonderful keystone wildflower that supports many pollinators emerged from the soil despite the attempting crowding out of vinca vine, day lilies, lily of the valley, and bittersweet.  I chipped away at the unwanted invasives all summer to protect this wonderful species.

Then, Friday of last week came, and some mysterious force ripped out my plants.  This required them to come onto the patio and make their way around my birdbath to get to these flowers in a bed that is clearly a site of cultivation, not neglect.

We live in a vast condominium association spread across 1,000 acres--many of which are covered with mugwort, bittersweet, burning bush, and barberry.  Yet someone came along and took from our garden a keystone pollinator without so much as knocking on the door.

This was a sad thing.  So we went to the nursery and bought new plants to honor the old.  We also bought yarrow, another native pollinator.

I am curious about what happened.  I find it strange and uncomfortable that someone came onto our patio and into our garden to specifically remove plants that were part of our landscape.

I am also eager to share with whomever did this the value of plants that are often mistaken for ragweed or just weeds generally.

"The genus name, Solidago, is compounded from the Latin words solidus and ago, which together mean 'to make whole.' This references the plant's reputed healing properties," according to NC State.

I have tried to make the situation whole.  In the spring, when new plants emerge from the seed bank, I will tag, fence, and protect them from their No. 1 predator, Homo sapiens.