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Something I’ve noticed in gardens that have been tended by the same person – or people – 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 swap out their drapes biannually 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 a multitude of distinct spaces. The trial-and-error method of lifting something that seems somewhat discontent has been a stalwart of mine since I started pot cultivation on a minuscule terrace.

Yes, there’s a chance that relocating a plant may overwhelm or challenge 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 argue 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 symbolically lovely time to do it.

If you’d prefer a structured approach, draw a plan of your borders, whether current or proposed, to help position specimens in their fresh location.

If you live in an area that has been wet enough to become waterlogged, 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 hope for more vigorous growth, they’re frustrated in a too-small pot or appearing quite poorly – because the chances are that a new spot will only improve things.

One of my most cherished aspects about gardening is the remarkably fluid process of how plans unfurl once I’m out there. But if you’d rather be more formal, 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 generously 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 securely and provide 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 satisfaction in this, too. While you wait, you can appreciate the revised layout through its skeletal structure; and if it’s not to your liking, have another shuffle before the season arrives. A new perspective on the garden for the new year.