🔗 Share this article

A common observation in gardens that have been tended 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 assurance and inquisitiveness as those restless interior design lovers who change their curtains twice a year with the changing of the clocks.

The most extended period I've managed a plot is five years, but even in that span it seems as though I made several different gardens. The suck-it-and-see approach of lifting something that seems somewhat discontent has been a stalwart of mine since I started pot cultivation on a minuscule terrace.

Yes, there’s a risk that moving a plant may stress or test it, but it’s also a free and relatively easy way of playing with new contours, structures, and concepts in your plot, no matter the size. And I’d argue that right now, this peaceful, tranquil period between Christmas and January, 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 prefer a structured approach, draw a plan of your borders, whether current or proposed, 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 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 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 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 remarkably fluid process of how plans unfurl once I’m in the garden. 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. Ready the new planting hole before you lift anything: dig a hole that’s amply deep and more spacious than the expected root mass (look to the base of the specimen for a useful indicator), and add some mulch or well-rotted compost. Then dig up, place, and firm in securely and provide a good water to mark 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 bare-bones framework; and if it’s not working for you, have another shuffle before spring comes. A new perspective on the garden for the new year.