Now is the Time to Be Bold and Give Your Garden a Complete Reorganization.

A common observation in gardens that have been tended by the same individual or group is that the finest examples rarely remain the same. Gardeners with a deep passion for their plots rearrange elements all the time, with the same assurance and inquisitiveness as those restless interior design lovers who swap out their drapes biannually with the seasonal time shifts.

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 transplanting a specimen that seems somewhat discontent has been a stalwart of mine since I started container gardening on a minuscule terrace.

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, 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 slowly begin to lengthen again, is a beautifully symbolic time to do it.

If you’d rather be more formal, draw a plan of your borders, 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 frozen solid, then save it for a quiet weekend in January instead. But if things are simply chilly, moist, and dormant 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 hope for more vigorous growth, they’re frustrated in a too-small pot or looking deathly – because the likelihood is that a different position will only improve things.

One of my favourite things 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 existing or planned, 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 larger than the anticipated rootball (look to the base of the specimen for a good guide), and add some organic matter or mature compost. Then dig up, place, and firm in firmly and give a thorough watering to mark the plant’s fresh abode.

Depending on the plant, you won’t see the results of your work for a couple of weeks, but there’s a satisfaction in this, too. During this period, you can enjoy your new planting arrangement through its skeletal structure; and if it’s not to your liking, have another shuffle before spring comes. A fresh take on the garden for the coming year.