Garden changes

I've always been told that the best gardens are never finished, where would the fun be in that? However they certainly have different stages of finishedness and subsequent moments of change whether that's due to complete redesigning or simply thinking that you might try Lobelia's instead of Pelagoniums next year.

Having only been in our present house since Christmas 2008 I still see the garden as on the new side, it was a large patio when we arrived with a pergola, raised beds and two sheds. We quickly set about pulling up a few of the slabs to put in a compost heap or two (now four) and a narrow bed, before we knew it we'd removed around half the patio and had three beds and a new lawn beginning to grow.
Now some people I know like to meticulously plan, scale drawings and a list of plants they want and where they'll be going; we're not like that. We're of the school that sees a new plant, buys it and then works out where it'll fit, the garden has grown around us as we've settled in and I like to feel has a natural vibe to it. What plans we have had generally consist of "it'd be nice to have a climber around here" or "it'd be nice to have a wildflower lawn" and other than that we tend to just see what happens.
What has happened is that in just 37 days we're expecting a baby girl and with any big news I like to sit in the garden with a cuppa and try to get my head round it. I can't wait to meet her and do all the stuff dads do (whatever that may be) but it's something I have no real knowledge of, a leap into the wonderful unknown, so to speak.
The house is pretty much ready, nursery finished and other than a couple of things to get for her we're set, however the garden is another matter. As a child I spent many happy days digging holes, rolling in mud, eating soil and generally just making a glorious mess. With the garden we currently have I can see how unsuitable it is for play, fine for relaxing in with wine on a hot day but not for rolling around in and crashing through beds searching for creatures.

We're going to have to plan the garden. The lawn will need enlarging, a gate put to the compost area at the back, certain plants moving out of prying hands way and many other jobs I'll see as the time approaches. You may think that for such a bimbling, pottering gardener as myself the thought of a bit of structured organisation to the garden would be abhorrent but in truth I'm rather looking forward to it. The chance to really get stuck in and give the garden an overhaul, pull up more slabs and increase the lawn space.
You see nothing quite invigorates a space as looking at it with new eyes, when I get down and imagine what it'll be like for a baby I can see all sorts of fascinating ideas. It's also all too easy to stick with what you know, the comfort of the familiar and leaving areas whether inside or out how they've always been. It can certainly be daunting to start grand projects but then sometimes we need that push and are all the more thankful for it after.
Too many times do we throw ourselves into a Spring clean of the house but how often do we do an Autumn clean of the garden? Plants that have become too large can be lifted and split, shrubs that now appear too big for a space pruned back or transplanted, lawns redefined, woodwork treated, sheds cleared out, the list is endless but thanks to our little girl at least I'm being made to start the list. I'll just have one more cup of tea first...