No matter how much planning goes into it, a garden has a life of its own, not only changing with the seasons but changing over time. Trees grow and create shady spots where the sun used to shine; trees die and create sunny spots where you’ve planted all your most expensive shade-loving perennials. Bushes get too big, or a cold winter (like the one we just had) kills off a beloved shrub (don’t get me started on my fig lament). Sometime plants just get tired and disappear. If I’m too busy with work and family, or if my back goes out, the vines and weeds happily fill in any empty spaces. For a haphazard gardener like myself, who has a laissez-faire attitude (must be my descent from French nobility), there comes a spring when I realize my benevolent neglect has gone on too long. Time to reconsider the garden. I am fortunate to have a friend who is a gifted landscape designer, and she has agreed to walk over our plot of urban land and give me advice about how to allocate space and determine which plants to consider adding or subtracting. The point isn’t to get everything in order right away. It takes a while for new plantings to flourish, and part of the fun of having a garden is planning for the future. Since the purpose of my garden is to provide a peaceful refuge and connection to the earth, I look forward to any time spent implementing those plans.