Something I’ve noticed in plots cared for by the same person – or people – is that the finest examples rarely remain the same. People who truly love their plots shuffle things around all the time, with the same assurance and inquisitiveness 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 suck-it-and-see approach of lifting something that isn’t terribly happy has been a trusted strategy since I started container gardening 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 contours, structures, and concepts in your plot, no matter the size. And I’d argue that right now, this peaceful, tranquil period between Christmas and January, 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 prefer a structured approach, 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 calm Saturday in January instead. But if things are simply chilly, moist, and dormant out there, you’ve got the ideal circumstances 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 frustrated in a too-small pot or appearing quite poorly – 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 rather be more formal, draw up a sketch of your beds, whether current or envisioned, to help get things in their new place. Ready the new planting hole before you lift anything: excavate a space 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 mulch or well-rotted compost. Then lift, plonk, bed down securely and provide a good water to celebrate the plant’s fresh abode.
Based on the species, you may not witness the results of your work for a couple of weeks, but there’s a satisfaction in this, 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.
