🔗 Share this article

Something I’ve noticed in plots cared for by the same person – or people – is that the best ones never stay 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 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 trial-and-error method of lifting something that seems somewhat discontent has been a trusted strategy since I started pot cultivation on a tiny balcony.

Yes, there’s a chance that relocating a plant may stress or test it, but it’s also a free and relatively easy way of experimenting with new shapes, forms and ideas in your plot, no matter the size. And I’d argue that right now, this slow, quiet time between the holidays and the new year, 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 rather be more formal, sketch your beds, whether existing or planned, to help get things in their new place.

If you live in an area that has been wet enough to become waterlogged, or frozen solid, then postpone it until a quiet weekend 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 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 different position will only enhance their situation.

One of my most cherished aspects about gardening is the remarkably fluid process of how ideas develop once I’m out there. But if you’d rather be more formal, draw up a sketch of your beds, whether current or envisioned, to help place items in their designated spot. Prepare the landing site before you lift anything: excavate a space that’s generously deep and more spacious than the anticipated rootball (look to the crown of the plant for a good guide), and add some organic matter or mature compost. Then lift, plonk, bed down firmly and give a good water to mark the plant’s new home.

Depending on the plant, you won’t see the fruits of your labour for a couple of weeks, 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 fresh take on the garden for the new year.