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A common observation in plots cared for by the same individual or group 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 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 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, 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 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 get things in their fresh location.

If you live in an area that has been wet enough to become waterlogged, 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 shuffling some plants around, 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 new spot will only improve things.

One of my favourite things about gardening is the almost free-flowing nature of how plans unfurl once I’m in the garden. But if you’d prefer a methodical plan, 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 dig anything up: dig a hole that’s amply deep and more spacious than the anticipated rootball (look to the crown of the plant for a good guide), and add some organic matter or mature compost. Then lift, plonk, bed down firmly and give a good water to celebrate the plant’s fresh abode.

Depending on the plant, you won’t see the fruits of your labour for a few weeks yet, but there’s a satisfaction in this, too. During this period, you can enjoy your new planting arrangement through its bare-bones framework; 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.