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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 constantly redecorating homeowners who swap out their drapes biannually with the changing of the clocks.

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 seems somewhat discontent has been a trusted strategy since I started container gardening 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 contend that right now, this slow, quiet time between Christmas and January, 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 prefer a structured approach, sketch your beds, whether current or proposed, 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 postpone it until a quiet weekend in January instead. But if things are simply cool, damp and docile out there, you’ve got the perfect conditions for rearranging your greenery, because many perennials will be dormant. I recommend you start with the things that are bothering you a bit – 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 enhance their situation.

One of my favourite things about gardening is the remarkably fluid process of how plans unfurl 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 dig anything up: dig a hole that’s amply deep and more spacious than the anticipated rootball (look to the base of the specimen for a useful indicator), and add some mulch or well-rotted compost. Then lift, plonk, bed down securely and provide a good water to mark the plant’s fresh abode.

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 to your liking, have another shuffle before spring comes. A fresh take on the garden for the new year.