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A common observation in gardens that have been tended by the same individual or group is that the best ones never stay the same. People who truly love 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 most extended period I've managed a plot is five years, but even in that span it seems as though I made a multitude of distinct spaces. The trial-and-error method of transplanting a specimen that isn’t terribly happy has been a trusted strategy 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 free and relatively easy way of playing with new shapes, forms and ideas in your plot, regardless of its dimensions. And I’d contend that right now, this peaceful, tranquil period between the holidays and the new year, as one calendar transitions to another, as the days slowly begin to lengthen again, is a beautifully symbolic time to do it.

If you’d rather be more formal, draw a plan of your borders, whether existing or planned, to help position specimens 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 quiet weekend 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 frustrated in a too-small pot or appearing quite poorly – because the chances are that a different position will only improve things.

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 rather be more formal, draw up a sketch of your beds, whether existing or planned, to help get things in their designated spot. Prepare the landing site before you lift anything: dig a hole that’s generously deep and larger than the expected root mass (look to the base of the specimen for a useful indicator), and add some mulch or well-rotted compost. Then lift, plonk, bed down firmly and give a good water to celebrate the plant’s new home.

Depending on the plant, you may not witness 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 bare-bones framework; and if it’s not working for you, have a second rearrangement before the season arrives. A new perspective on the garden for the new year.