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A common observation in gardens that have been tended by the same person – or people – is that the finest examples rarely remain the same. People who truly love their plots rearrange elements all the time, with the same assurance and inquisitiveness as those restless interior design lovers who change their curtains twice a year with the seasonal time shifts.

The longest I’ve ever had a plot is five years, but even in that span it seems as though I made several different gardens. The trial-and-error method of transplanting a specimen that isn’t terribly happy has been a stalwart of mine since I started container gardening on a minuscule terrace.

Yes, there’s a risk that moving a plant may stress or test 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 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 current or proposed, to help get things in their new place.

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 perfect conditions 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 new spot 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 rather be more formal, create a diagram of your beds, whether current or envisioned, to help get things in their designated spot. Ready the new planting hole before you lift anything: dig a hole that’s amply deep and more spacious than the expected root mass (look to the crown of the plant for a useful indicator), and add some mulch or well-rotted compost. Then lift, plonk, bed down securely and provide a thorough watering to celebrate the plant’s fresh abode.

Depending on the plant, you won’t see the results of your work for a few weeks yet, but there’s a satisfaction in this, too. During this period, 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.