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A common observation in plots cared for by the same person – or people – 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 confidence and curiosity as those constantly redecorating homeowners who swap out their drapes biannually with the seasonal time shifts.

The longest I’ve ever had 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 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 contend that right now, this slow, quiet time between Christmas and January, between one year and the next, as the days gradually start to stretch out again, is a symbolically lovely time to do it.

If you’d prefer a structured approach, sketch your beds, whether existing or planned, to help position specimens 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 calm Saturday 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 begin with the things that are causing you slight concern – whether it’s because you wish they were growing better, they’re frustrated in a too-small pot 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 almost free-flowing nature of how plans unfurl once I’m out there. 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. Prepare the landing site before you lift anything: dig a hole that’s generously deep and larger than the anticipated rootball (look to the base of the specimen for a good guide), and add some mulch or well-rotted compost. Then lift, plonk, bed down firmly and give a thorough watering to celebrate the plant’s new home.

Depending on the plant, you may not witness the results of your work for a few weeks yet, but there’s a satisfaction in this, too. While you wait, you can enjoy your new planting arrangement 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.