My gardens are constantly being reworked. From one season to the next I make changes as flowers bloom and fade; as seasons come and go I celebrate the endless cycle of growth.

My garden has gone through many changes. The biggest one was removing diseased Leyland Cypress trees.

When we first moved in we loved the largest Leyland tree that had a huge presence in our yard. The branches stretched far and wide. Eventually over the years the tree started showing signs of decline: browning needles, yellowing foliage and drying branches.

The huge Leyland behind the bench was removed.

And the two Leyland trees by the fence were also removed. We left the poplar tree in the middle.

Now we had an expansive planting area. You can see the remaining stump of the Leyland on the left by the thin tree line.

Our gardens are already large; did I really need to add more garden space? I was glad the Leyland was removed, but not happy about having to create another planting area.

Every day I tried to envision plants covering the space. I realized the rhododendrons that we never knew were there because they were hidden by the Leyland tree, would be lovely if they bloomed. So my husband removed all the thin trees.

And they did bloom, clusters of shell pink flowers contrasting beautifully with dark green foliage.

We moved the wooden bench back and added more stepping stones in front of it. Divisions of shade plants from other garden beds were planted along with two new Weigela, one on each side of the bench.

Another life lesson learned from my garden: accept what is because change is inevitable.