Renee, the dark spots don't bother me - it's all the white spots in the BG that I find a bit distracting. Why not select the dark area and drop it down another notch so all those white spots go away.
As for the comp, next time try to get a little more distance between the flower and the lily pads. If the flower had been a bit more in the lower left corner and the pads in the upper right corner it would have really made for an even stronger diagonal comp.