Group Wisdom

I’d killed the bamboo plant somehow.

It was pot bound. Rock hard soil and solid twisted roots.

30 minutes in, trying to get the mass out of the giant plant pot and we’d hardly got anywhere.

I felt fed up. The rain wasn’t helping.

“Why don’t we put some water in it to soften it up?” he said.

“That would make it a muddy mess,” I replied

We chipped away some more. Getting nowhere fast.

“How about you tip it upside down?” he suggested.

“But I can hardly lift it it’s so heavy. And it’s jammed in,” I replied.

“C’mon, you can do it, try it,” he said.

I wrestled with the large and heavy pot.

The gnarly mass popped out of the pot and thumped to the ground.

Woo hoo! We celebrated.

We then planted our new lovely lilies and we felt proud of ourselves.

Who was my Gardening Buddy and Supervisor?

My son Charlie. He’s 6 years old.

Why do I tell you this story?

Because I think my son is a child prodigy and the next Monty Don? No.

I’m telling you this to lead you to a question…

Who do you have around you that can challenge you AND help you?

(Those two skills combined are priceless).

Later, I reflected and laughed.

I wonder how long it would have taken me to do the job by myself? Hopelessly hacking away at the insides of that plant pot, with my blinkers on, being miserable.

Thank goodness for six-year-olds.