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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 confidence and curiosity as those restless interior design lovers who swap out their drapes twice a year with the seasonal time shifts.

The most extended period I've managed 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 stalwart of mine since I started container gardening on a minuscule terrace.

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 experimenting with new contours, structures, and concepts in your plot, no matter the size. And I’d contend that right now, this slow, quiet time between Christmas and January, as one calendar transitions to another, as the days slowly begin to lengthen again, is a beautifully symbolic time to do it.

If you’d rather be more formal, sketch your beds, whether current or proposed, to help get things in their new place.

If you live in an area that has been damp to the point of boggy, 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 ideal circumstances for shuffling some plants around, because many perennials will be dormant. I recommend you start with the things that are causing you slight concern – whether it’s because you wish they were growing better, 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 most cherished aspects about gardening is the remarkably fluid process of how ideas develop once I’m out there. 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 new place. Ready the new planting hole before you lift anything: dig a hole that’s amply deep and larger than the anticipated rootball (look to the base of the specimen for a good guide), and add some mulch or well-rotted compost. Then lift, plonk, bed down firmly and give a good water to celebrate the plant’s new home.

Depending on the plant, you may not witness the results of your work for a few weeks yet, but there’s a satisfaction in this, too. While you wait, 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 fresh take on the garden for the new year.