Now is the Time to Show Courage and Give Your Garden a Reshuffle.

Something I’ve noticed in plots cared for by the same person – or people – is that the finest examples rarely remain the same. Gardeners with a deep passion for their plots shuffle things around all the time, with the same confidence and curiosity as those constantly redecorating homeowners who swap out their drapes biannually 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 suck-it-and-see approach of transplanting a specimen that isn’t terribly happy has been a trusted strategy 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 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 slow, quiet time between the holidays and the new year, as one calendar transitions to another, as the days slowly begin to lengthen again, is a symbolically lovely time to do it.

If you’d rather be more formal, draw a plan of your borders, whether current or proposed, to help get things 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 calm Saturday in January instead. But if things are simply cool, damp and docile out there, you’ve got the ideal circumstances for shuffling some plants around, because many long-lived plants are resting. I recommend you begin with the things that are bothering you a bit – whether it’s because you hope for more vigorous growth, they’re cramped in an undersized container or appearing quite poorly – because the chances are 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 in the garden. 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 lift anything: excavate a space that’s amply deep and larger than the expected root mass (look to the crown of the plant for a useful indicator), and add some organic matter or mature compost. Then dig up, place, and firm in firmly and give a good water to celebrate the plant’s fresh abode.

Based on the species, you won’t see the fruits of your labour for a few weeks yet, but there’s a satisfaction in this, too. During this period, you can appreciate the revised layout through its bare-bones framework; and if it’s not working for you, have a second rearrangement before the season arrives. A fresh take on the garden for the coming year.