The Perfect Moment to Be Bold and Undertake a Reshuffle.

A common observation in gardens that have been tended by the same person – or people – is that the best ones never stay 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 change their curtains twice a year with the seasonal time shifts.

The longest I’ve ever had a plot is five years, but even in that span it seems 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 pot cultivation on a tiny balcony.

Yes, there’s a chance that relocating a plant may overwhelm or challenge it, but it’s also a costless and quite simple way of playing with new shapes, forms and ideas in your plot, regardless of its dimensions. And I’d argue 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 rather be more formal, sketch your beds, whether current or proposed, to help position specimens in their new place.

If you live in an area that has been wet enough to become waterlogged, or completely iced over, then postpone it until a calm Saturday 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 long-lived plants are resting. I recommend you begin with the things that are causing you slight concern – whether it’s because you wish they were growing better, they’re frustrated in a too-small pot or looking deathly – because the likelihood is that a new spot will only improve things.

One of my most cherished aspects about gardening is the almost free-flowing nature of how plans unfurl 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 get things in their new place. Ready the new planting hole before you dig anything up: dig a hole 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 lift, plonk, bed down securely and provide a good water to mark the plant’s fresh abode.

Based on the species, you may not witness the fruits of your labour for a few weeks yet, 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 to your liking, have another shuffle before the season arrives. A fresh take on the garden for the coming year.