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

The longest I’ve ever had a plot is five years, but even in that time I feel as though I made several different gardens. The trial-and-error method of transplanting a specimen 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 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 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 save it for a calm Saturday in January instead. But if things are simply chilly, moist, and dormant out there, you’ve got the perfect conditions for shuffling some plants around, 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 wish they were growing better, they’re cramped in an undersized container or looking deathly – because the chances are that a different position will only improve things.

One of my favourite things 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 new place. Prepare the landing site before you lift anything: dig a hole that’s generously deep and larger than the expected root mass (look to the base of the specimen for a useful indicator), and add some organic matter or mature compost. Then lift, plonk, bed down firmly and give a good water to mark the plant’s new home.

Depending on the plant, you won’t see 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 the season arrives. A fresh take on the garden for the new year.