🔗 Share this article

Something I’ve noticed in gardens that have been tended by the same individual or group is that the finest examples rarely remain the same. People who truly love their plots shuffle things around all the time, with the same confidence and curiosity as those restless interior design lovers who swap out their drapes biannually with the seasonal time shifts.

The most extended period I've managed a plot is five years, but even in that time I feel as though I made several different gardens. The trial-and-error method of lifting something that isn’t terribly happy has been a stalwart of mine since I started pot cultivation on a minuscule terrace.

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 experimenting with new contours, structures, and concepts in your plot, regardless of its dimensions. And I’d argue that right now, this peaceful, tranquil period between Christmas and January, between one year and the next, as the days slowly begin to lengthen again, is a beautifully symbolic time to do it.

If you’d prefer a structured approach, sketch your beds, whether existing or planned, to help get things in their new place.

If you live in an area that has been damp to the point of boggy, or frozen solid, then postpone it until a quiet weekend in January instead. But if things are simply chilly, moist, and dormant out there, you’ve got the perfect conditions for rearranging your greenery, because many perennials will be dormant. I recommend you begin with the things that are causing you slight concern – whether it’s because you hope for more vigorous growth, they’re frustrated in a too-small pot or looking deathly – 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 ideas develop once I’m out there. But if you’d prefer a methodical plan, create a diagram of your beds, whether current or envisioned, to help place items in their new place. Ready the new planting hole before you dig anything up: excavate a space that’s generously deep and more spacious than the expected root mass (look to the crown of the plant for a good guide), and add some organic matter or mature compost. Then dig up, place, and firm in securely and provide a thorough watering to celebrate the plant’s new home.

Depending on the plant, you may not witness the results of your work for a few weeks yet, but there’s a pleasure in this process, too. During this period, you can appreciate the revised layout through its skeletal structure; and if it’s not working for you, have a second rearrangement before the season arrives. A new perspective on the garden for the new year.