On Saturday, the Peony Garden at the University of Michigan’s Botanical Garden and Arboretum was vandalized, according to a statement posted by garden director Tony Kolenic on Instagram and Facebook.

Campus security reported  about a third of the garden’s 800 peonies, had their flowers cut off, leaving thousands of flowers scattered on the ground. Found alongside the flowers were about 100 paper signs that were blossoming with anti-Semitism.

The paper signs scattered through the area read “PLANT LIVES DON’T MATTER, HUMAN LIVES DO.”

The message then compares the amount of visitors the gardens receive to the number of Palestinian casualties and injuries since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct 7th 2023.

The messages then even go as far as to tell the reader to wear a Keffiyeh and replace their American flag with a Palestinian flag.

What the sign did not mention was the origin of the Hamas-Israel war, the 1,200 killed in Hamas’s deadly attack on Oct 7th, and the additional 250 people taken hostage by Hamas on the same day.

While clearly human lives matter way more than plant lives, and war is a dreadful thing, the way to a reach an audience isn’t through vandalizing a beloved public display, shaming them for being there, and then telling them to replace their culture.

It’s as UM spokeswoman Kay Jarvis says: "Damaging a beloved community space intended to foster reflection and bring hope to the whole community is counterproductive.”