Sketching in Watercolors

I am taking an online course in sketching in a travel journal with watercolors. The class is being run by Laure Ferlita http://www.imaginarytrips.com/ImaginaryTrips/Visits.html .  It is a virtual trip to a Japanese Garden. The class is 4 weeks long and we learn different techniques along the way. I was suppose to finish the whole sketch in 30 minutes. It took 60 for me to finish as I took too much time in making the background.  I needed to make the background more simple and concentrate on the main subject the flower. It is also scary to draw a few pencil lines and then do the rest with paint.