The Perfect Moment to Show Courage and Give Your Garden a Reshuffle.

Something I’ve noticed in plots cared for by the same person – or people – is that the best ones never stay the same. Gardeners with a deep passion for their plots shuffle things around all the time, with the same confidence and curiosity as those constantly redecorating homeowners who change their curtains biannually with the seasonal time shifts.

The longest I’ve ever had a plot is five years, but even in that time I feel as though I made a multitude of distinct spaces. The trial-and-error method of transplanting a specimen that isn’t terribly happy has been a stalwart of mine since I started container gardening on a minuscule terrace.

Yes, there’s a chance that relocating a plant may stress or test it, but it’s also a costless and quite simple way of experimenting with new contours, structures, and concepts in your plot, regardless of its dimensions. And I’d contend that right now, this peaceful, tranquil period between the holidays and the new year, as one calendar transitions to another, as the days gradually start to stretch out again, is a beautifully symbolic time to do it.

If you’d prefer a structured approach, draw a plan of your borders, whether existing or planned, to help get things in their fresh location.

If you live in an area that has been damp to the point of boggy, or completely iced over, then postpone it until a calm Saturday in January instead. But if things are simply chilly, moist, and dormant out there, you’ve got the ideal circumstances for shuffling some plants around, because many perennials will be dormant. I recommend you start with the things that are bothering you a bit – whether it’s because you wish they were growing better, they’re frustrated in a too-small pot or appearing quite poorly – because the likelihood is that a new spot will only improve things.

One of my favourite things about gardening is the almost free-flowing nature of how ideas develop once I’m in the garden. But if you’d rather be more formal, draw up a sketch of your beds, whether current or envisioned, to help place items in their designated spot. Prepare the landing site before you lift anything: excavate a space that’s amply deep and more spacious than the anticipated rootball (look to the base of the specimen for a good guide), and add some mulch or well-rotted compost. Then dig up, place, and firm in firmly and give a thorough watering to mark the plant’s fresh abode.

Depending on the plant, you won’t see the results of your work for a couple of weeks, but there’s a satisfaction in this, too. While you wait, you can appreciate the revised layout through its skeletal structure; and if it’s not to your liking, have a second rearrangement before spring comes. A new perspective on the garden for the coming year.