If I could just leave it alone!

My family tells me I have a bit of a problem when it comes to organizing. Don't get me wrong...I don't miss appointments, forget to pay bills or have piles of clutter all over the house.

I'm the opposite. I'm obsessed with finding the most efficient way to do things (who wants something to be harder than it has to) and the perfect place to put things. I consider it an art.

It is an art that I tends to spill outside into my garden. I spend entirely too much time analyzing my planting beds from different angles. When I do so I end up with these crazy questions running through my head...

"shouldn't there be something to break up the texture between the Kalimeris and Delphinium...hosta or brunnera?"

"maybe i should transplant some of the anemone sylvestris to the side yard so I have more spring bloomers in that area."

"I need more stuff in the vegetable garden to soften the raised planters and make it look more natural...sedum, ajuga, maybe even mazus?"

"I'm definitely getting rid of the phlox...love them but I'm so sick of the mildew...what about more Delphinum there?"

And this goes on and on...my husband said the other day. "Just leave it be, give something more than a year. Perennials do nothing exciting the first two years!" I immediately dismissed this advice out of sheer stubbornness...he's my husband and although he's a landscape architect and a certified arborist he can't be right.

Last night after I put my daughter to bed I took a moment to walk around the yard, slowly planning what plants would be victims Saturday morning. As I was plotting I realized that I only have one area that I'm not really happy with.

The area of contention is actually not that bad, but it's the area I keep moving things around the most...instead of having patience and letting things grow. At that point I made a conscience decision.

First, that I'm going to leave the shovel in the garage...for now...and second, that my husband might just have a point. Dear lord, I hope he doesn't read this!