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A common observation in gardens that have been tended by the same person – or people – is that the best ones never stay 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 twice a year with the changing of the clocks.

The most extended period I've managed a plot is five years, but even in that time I feel as though I made a multitude of distinct spaces. The suck-it-and-see approach of transplanting a specimen that isn’t terribly happy has been a trusted strategy since I started container gardening on a minuscule terrace.

Yes, there’s a risk that moving 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, regardless of its dimensions. And I’d argue that right now, this peaceful, tranquil period 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 rather be more formal, draw a plan of your borders, whether existing or planned, to help position specimens in their new place.

If you live in an area that has been wet enough to become waterlogged, or completely iced over, then postpone it until a calm Saturday in January instead. But if things are simply cool, damp and docile out there, you’ve got the ideal circumstances for rearranging your greenery, because many long-lived plants are resting. I recommend you begin with the things that are bothering you a bit – whether it’s because you hope for more vigorous growth, they’re cramped in an undersized container 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 almost free-flowing nature of how ideas develop 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 place items in their designated spot. Ready the new planting hole before you dig anything up: 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 firmly and give a thorough watering to mark the plant’s fresh abode.

Depending on the plant, you may not witness the fruits of your labour for a few weeks yet, but there’s a satisfaction in this, too. While you wait, you can enjoy your new planting arrangement through its skeletal structure; and if it’s not working for you, have another shuffle before spring comes. A new perspective on the garden for the new year.