The flowers planted outside the Cranberry Region Visitor’s Center were stolen Friday night after being in place for less than a week.

The 15 plants were stolen during the night from the small garden they were planted in. The plants were in pots down in the earth with mulch around them, said Bruce Hutchins, the activities coordinator at the visitor’s center.

There were colorful perennials and annuals in the garden, valuing over $100, according to Hutchins, whose wife planted the flowers.

After this incident, the state police will have extra nighttime patrols come through the visitor’s center this summer.

The center has had issues with vandalism before, said Priscilla Alden, a coordinator at the center. The center was spray painted with graffiti twice in one season a few years ago. Hutchins said people have broken into the vending machines outside the visitor’s center and into the center itself to steal snacks.

“They do it for no particular reason,” Alden said. “That’s the part that bothers me. We’re just here; we’re trying to be nice to people. Just because you could steal them, you stole them?”

The visitor’s center, located on Route 195 east between the Marion and Wareham exits, is open from April to November and sees 20,000 people in a season from 50 states and 45 countries, Hutchins said. According to the Plymouth County Destination website, the center promotes attractions, restaurants and accommodations in the area, bringing around $500,000 to local businesses and charity groups.

Hutchins said the theft “took away the pleasure and welcoming civic pride” that tourists see when they visit the center. He does not anticipate replacing the flowers this year because of the cost.

“If one of the local nurseries wants to put some out there and advertise that it came from them, we’d gratefully accept,” Hutchins said.

Hutchins has a message for what he calls the “green thumb robber.”

“Be sure to keep the plants watered and periodically use fertilizer,” Hutchins said. “Even with good care, I hope your selfish act results with brown leaves and plenty of bugs. You act and you smell like manure.”