Help

Author: Tony Trott

There are sometimes when you are just not able to do something and you require help. Today was one of those days. A couple of our planters that are on our terrace were really starting to fall apart. I take full responsibility for this; they should not have been left unattended for many years in a row in all types of weather. Fortunately for us, my older brother and sister-in-law are quite adept at all things garden related. As I said, “A couple of our planters [are] really starting to fall apart.” Sorry I don’t have pictures of them prior to the help I got but you may have noticed that they were falling apart in pictures or videos that we have used in previous newsletters.

I had spoken with my brother about then possibility of doing something to hold them together so that we’d be able to use them for maybe a year or so at which point we’d need to invest in replacement planters (which would be much better cared for, I promise!). He suggested using ratchet straps; something with which I was unfamiliar but as he explained them to me I understood how they would solve our problem, at least temporarily.

Essentially, the way they work is that they wrap completely around the planter and then the two ends are connected by a ratchet and then tightened with said ratchet. So basically, it pulls all four sides of the planter together and holds them in place by being tight. While it is not a long-term solution, it is definitely a short-term one.

Wrapping the strap around the planter was not something I would have been able to do myself, or at least not easily. To paraphrase Barack Obama, asking for help to complete a task that I could have done myself ten years ago, is not a sign of weakness but one that shows the courage to admit I don’t know everything and am willing to learn.