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A common observation in plots cared for 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 change their curtains biannually with the seasonal time shifts.

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 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 stress or test 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 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 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 damp to the point of boggy, 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 start 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 appearing quite poorly – because the likelihood is that a new spot 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, create a diagram 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 amply deep and more spacious than the anticipated rootball (look to the base of the specimen for a good guide), and add some mulch or well-rotted compost. Then dig up, place, and firm in firmly and give a thorough watering to mark the plant’s new home.

Based on the species, you may not witness the results of your work 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 skeletal structure; and if it’s not working for you, have a second rearrangement before the season arrives. A new perspective on the garden for the coming year.