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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. People who truly love their plots rearrange elements all the time, with the same confidence and curiosity as those restless interior design lovers who swap out their drapes 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 span it seems as though I made several different gardens. The suck-it-and-see approach of transplanting a specimen that seems somewhat discontent has been a trusted strategy since I started pot cultivation on a tiny balcony.

Yes, there’s a risk that moving a plant may stress or test it, but it’s also a costless and quite simple way of playing with new contours, structures, and concepts in your plot, no matter the size. 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 rather be more formal, 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 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 perennials will be dormant. 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 appearing quite poorly – because the likelihood is that a different position will only improve things.

One of my favourite things about gardening is the remarkably fluid process 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 place items in their designated spot. Prepare the landing site before you lift anything: dig a hole that’s amply deep and larger than the expected root mass (look to the crown of the plant for a useful indicator), and add some organic matter or mature compost. Then dig up, place, and firm in firmly and give a good water to mark the plant’s fresh abode.

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 the season arrives. A fresh take on the garden for the coming year.