TEARS FOR FLOWERS
Vandals ruin wedding plan
AN ELDERLY man prepping for his garden wedding has been left devastated after vandals ripped heads off his giant sunflowers.
Charlie Barber, 83, woke up yesterday to find two of his prized flowers had been destroyed overnight.
“I was making breakfast, I looked out the window and saw what looked like bits of sunflower on the ground,” Mr Barber said.
He walked outside his home, on the corner of Kennedy St and The Strand, and discovered someone had torn the heads off two of his tallest sunflowers.
“I had been growing them for about three months,” Mr Barber said.
Mr Barber estimated the tallest sunflower was up to 3.5m.
“It was possibly the largest sunflower in Australia,” he said.
“It’s very hard to understand how anyone could get up there to do that – the only thing I could think about is two guys standing on each other’s shoulders.”
The passionate green thumb admitted it was heartbreaking to have his precious garden destroyed for the third time in just months.
“I'm a pretty strong guy but I had tears in my eyes this morning,” Mr Barber said.
“I virtually love them – I pat them, water them, feed them and just make sure everything’s going OK.”
He was preparing his garden up for his upcoming wedding to partner Glenis.
“We’re getting married out on the lawn here next month,” Mr Barber said.
“I’ve done all this for this one day next month … it really p------ s me off.”
Despite his frustration, he said he is not giving up.
“I’m going to make sure that everything’s going to be good on the wedding day,” Mr Barber said.
“We’re still going to have a magic time – I love ( Glenis) very much.”
Mr Barber met Glenis in February at a party next door to his home.
“I took her up to the fish and chip shop and in two or three days we were very much in love,” he said.
“We got engaged probably about a month after we met and we’re the happiest couple in the world.”
Mr Barber said Glenis wasn’t too interested in his hobby initially, but has since become fond of the garden.
“She was in tears about the sunflowers,” he said.
Mr Barber reported the incident to police but said it would be hard to track down the culprit without CCTV.