The Perfect Moment to Show Courage and Undertake a Reshuffle.

A common observation in gardens that have been tended by the same person – or people – is that the finest examples rarely remain the same. Gardeners with a deep passion for their plots rearrange elements all the time, with the same assurance and inquisitiveness as those restless interior design lovers who change their curtains biannually with the changing of the clocks.

The longest I’ve ever had a plot is five years, but even in that span it seems as though I made several different gardens. The trial-and-error method of lifting something that isn’t terribly happy has been a trusted strategy since I started container gardening on a tiny balcony.

Yes, there’s a chance that relocating a plant may overwhelm or challenge it, but it’s also a free and relatively easy way of playing with new contours, structures, and concepts in your plot, regardless of its dimensions. And I’d argue that right now, this slow, quiet time between the holidays and the new year, between one year and the next, as the days gradually start to stretch out again, is a beautifully symbolic time to do it.

If you’d rather be more formal, draw a plan of your borders, whether existing or planned, to help position specimens in their fresh location.

If you live in an area that has been damp to the point of boggy, or frozen solid, 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 perfect conditions for shuffling some plants around, because many long-lived plants are resting. I recommend you start with the things that are causing you slight concern – whether it’s because you wish they were growing better, they’re cramped in an undersized container or appearing quite poorly – because the likelihood is that a different position will only enhance their situation.

One of my favourite things about gardening is the remarkably fluid process of how plans unfurl once I’m in the garden. But if you’d prefer a methodical plan, create a diagram of your beds, whether current or envisioned, to help get things in their new place. Ready the new planting hole before you lift anything: dig a hole that’s generously deep and more spacious than the anticipated rootball (look to the base of the specimen for a useful indicator), and add some mulch or well-rotted compost. Then lift, plonk, bed down firmly and give a thorough watering to celebrate the plant’s fresh abode.

Based on the species, you won’t see the results of your work for a few weeks yet, but there’s a satisfaction in this, too. During this period, 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 fresh take on the garden for the coming year.