The concept of community gardens, where public land is made available to individuals and families to raise produce and flowers, is a noble one. When it works as envisioned, gardeners get to know and respect one another while swapping advice and their harvests, families eat healthier and tastier, and a piece of ground is simply put to good use.

Of course, there are spoilers, as we hear.

One year, for instance, all of the purple cabbage heads kept disappearing from the different families’ sections at one site, at least until a restaurant owner was caught in the act.(The audacity!)

Another year, I think, some of the garlic was raided.

This year, a large blooming tithonia plant was dug up and taken. It’s a big plant!

And more recently, as one man worked his plot, he observed a woman going through the neighboring sections and filling bags. Excuse me, he said, those aren’t yours.

But it’s a community garden, she retorted.

You’re stealing, he said, dialing his cell phone. I’m sure the police are perplexed by this one.

She was well-dressed. Her Audi was full of produce. She’d driven more than 30 miles from her home.

Does she really have no awareness of all the work that goes into ordering seeds, starting them indoors, transplanting, weeding, watering, weeding, watering, weeding, watering, staking some up … oh, well …

I’m waiting for the rest of the story. For now, I just can’t wrap my brain around this one.