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Something I’ve noticed in gardens that have been tended by the same individual or group is that the best ones never stay the same. Gardeners with a deep passion for their plots shuffle things around all the time, with the same confidence and curiosity as those constantly redecorating homeowners who change their curtains biannually 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 several different gardens. The suck-it-and-see approach of transplanting a specimen that isn’t terribly happy has been a stalwart of mine since I started pot cultivation on a tiny balcony.

Yes, there’s a chance that relocating a plant may stress or test it, but it’s also a free and relatively easy way of playing with new contours, structures, and concepts in your plot, regardless of its dimensions. And I’d argue 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 prefer a structured approach, 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 damp to the point of boggy, or frozen solid, then postpone it until a calm Saturday 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 causing you slight concern – 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 enhance their situation.

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 existing or planned, to help place items in their new place. Ready the new planting hole before you lift anything: dig a hole that’s generously deep and more spacious than the expected root mass (look to the crown of the plant for a good guide), and add some mulch or well-rotted compost. Then dig up, place, and firm in firmly and give a good water to mark the plant’s new home.

Based on the species, you won’t see the results of your work for a couple of weeks, 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 a second rearrangement before spring comes. A new perspective on the garden for the new year.