the phantom planter. henry doctor is his name. he's a 52-year-old green thumb good samaritan who for the last three decades has been surreptitiously planting flowers on four continents in an effort to beautify public spaces. he views his work as performance art. never has he encountered a problem, that is until he planted 11,000 morning glories, cardinal flours and vines at a metro station in the nation's capital. his plan was they would bloom in 167 otherwise baron flower box in colors red, white and blue from august until october. metro wasn't happy. doctor was threatened with arrest, fines and imprisonment if he dared to weed, water or otherwise tend to his work along the top stretch of the dupont circle station. the stated concern, safety. according to mccartney's coverage, metro worried that doctor could hurt himself if he fell, given the steep incline of where he had planted. but doctor wasn't arrested. instead, metro employees pulled out all the flowers, claiming they did so in anticipation of repairs to paver blocks.