Now is the Time to Show Courage and Undertake a Reshuffle.
Something I’ve noticed in gardens that have been tended by the same individual or group is that the best ones never stay the same. People who truly love their plots rearrange elements all the time, with the same assurance and inquisitiveness 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 span it seems as though I made several different gardens. The suck-it-and-see approach of transplanting a specimen that seems somewhat discontent has been a trusted strategy since I started pot cultivation 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 contours, structures, and concepts 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, between one year and the next, as the days gradually start to stretch out again, is a symbolically lovely time to do it.
If you’d rather be more formal, sketch your beds, whether existing or planned, to help position specimens in their fresh location.
If you live in an area that has been wet enough to become waterlogged, or completely iced over, then postpone it until a quiet weekend in January instead. But if things are simply chilly, moist, and dormant out there, you’ve got the perfect conditions for rearranging your greenery, because many perennials will be dormant. I recommend you begin with the things that are bothering you a bit – whether it’s because you wish they were growing better, 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 almost free-flowing nature of how plans unfurl once I’m in the garden. But if you’d prefer a methodical plan, draw up a sketch of your beds, whether current or envisioned, to help get things in their designated spot. Ready the new planting hole 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 mulch or well-rotted compost. Then dig up, place, and firm in securely and provide a good water to celebrate the plant’s new home.
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. 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 spring comes. A new perspective on the garden for the coming year.
