🔗 Share this article

A common observation in plots cared for by the same individual or group is that the finest examples rarely remain the same. People who truly love their plots rearrange elements all the time, with the same confidence and curiosity as those constantly redecorating homeowners who swap out their drapes twice a year 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 several different gardens. The suck-it-and-see approach 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 risk that moving a plant may overwhelm or challenge it, but it’s also a free and relatively easy way of playing with new shapes, forms and ideas in your plot, no matter the size. And I’d contend 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 current or proposed, to help get things in their new place.

If you live in an area that has been wet enough to become waterlogged, or completely iced over, then save it for a quiet weekend in January instead. But if things are simply cool, damp and docile out there, you’ve got the perfect conditions for rearranging your greenery, because many long-lived plants are resting. I recommend you start with the things that are bothering you a bit – whether it’s because you hope for more vigorous growth, they’re frustrated in a too-small pot or appearing quite poorly – because the likelihood is that a different position will only enhance their situation.

One of my most cherished aspects about gardening is the almost free-flowing nature of how ideas develop once I’m out there. But if you’d rather be more formal, create a diagram of your beds, whether current or envisioned, to help place items in their designated spot. Prepare the landing site before you dig anything up: excavate a space that’s generously deep and larger than the anticipated rootball (look to the base of the specimen for a useful indicator), and add some organic matter or mature compost. Then dig up, place, and firm in firmly and give a thorough watering to celebrate the plant’s fresh abode.

Based on the species, you won’t see the fruits of your labour for a couple of weeks, but there’s a pleasure in this process, too. While you wait, you can enjoy your new planting arrangement through its skeletal structure; and if it’s not to your liking, have another shuffle before spring comes. A fresh take on the garden for the new year.