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A common observation in gardens that have been tended by the same individual or group is that the finest examples rarely remain the same. Gardeners with a deep passion for their plots shuffle things around all the time, with the same assurance and inquisitiveness as those restless interior design lovers who change their curtains twice a year with the changing of the clocks.

The most extended period I've managed 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 lifting something that seems somewhat discontent has been a trusted strategy since I started pot cultivation on a minuscule terrace.

Yes, there’s a chance that relocating a plant may stress or test it, but it’s also a costless and quite simple way of experimenting with new contours, structures, and concepts in your plot, regardless of its dimensions. And I’d contend that right now, this slow, quiet time 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, sketch your beds, whether existing or planned, to help get things 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 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 chances are 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 rather be more formal, create a diagram 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 amply deep and more spacious than the anticipated rootball (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 celebrate the plant’s new home.

Based on the species, you may not witness the fruits of your labour for a few weeks yet, 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 working for you, have another shuffle before spring comes. A fresh take on the garden for the new year.