Clutter.

“Out of clutter, find simplicity. “

                               -Albert Einstein

I am taking advantage of all this New Year energy to work on clutter. I’ve already started with my closet thanks to Allison Lumbatis over at Get Your Pretty On (GYPO). She is a style diva with lots of ideas for putting clothing and accessories together using much of what is already in the closet.

Our gardens can suffer from the clutter bug, too. As the yard starts to nap here in Augusta, Georgia, the garden becomes disrobed, stark. This is good because it allows us to examine the basic structure of the garden–the bones. It is time for my garden to grow up. I have removed the cutsie bug votive holders I bought at Joanne’s years ago, then painted a bright red. They have become lost as the garden has matured. There is still room for whimsy, but on a larger scale!

This picture is of a garden that is beautiful and functional—where I want to be in the garden. Uncluttered, not too much to take care of but still productive and beautiful! Notice the whimsical topiaries to the right.

Continuing on with my de-cluttering of the garden, I also took some of the planters-I’ve collected many from your trash piles returning them to my trash pile for someone else to enjoy! Someone will have a nice surprise of about 10 amaryllis bulbs in bloom this summer!

There is peace in the garden. Peace and results. —Ruth Stout

On to my bedside where magazines sit waiting for me to peruse-again. This time they are going. I’ll pull out the pages, but the bulk of them must go! I need to explore some electronic gadget that scans my paper and organizes it for me! Do you have one of those?

I’ll report back. Meanwhile, while your garden is napping, take a look and see where you can remove some clutter and simplify.

ML