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A common observation in gardens that have been tended 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 restless interior design lovers who change their curtains biannually with the changing of the clocks.

The longest I’ve ever had 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 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 risk that moving a plant may overwhelm or challenge it, but it’s also a costless and quite simple way of playing with new shapes, forms and ideas in your plot, regardless of its dimensions. And I’d contend that right now, this peaceful, tranquil period between Christmas and January, as one calendar transitions to another, as the days gradually start to stretch out again, is a beautifully symbolic time to do it.

If you’d rather be more formal, draw a plan of your borders, whether current or proposed, to help position specimens in their new place.

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 rearranging your greenery, because many long-lived plants are resting. 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 cramped in an undersized container or appearing quite poorly – 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 plans unfurl once I’m in the garden. 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 dig anything up: dig a hole that’s generously deep and larger than the expected root mass (look to the base of the specimen for a good guide), 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.

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. While you wait, you can appreciate the revised layout 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.