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A common observation in plots cared for by the same individual or group is that the finest examples rarely remain 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 change their curtains biannually with the changing of the clocks.

The longest I’ve ever had a plot is five years, but even in that time I feel 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 pot cultivation on a minuscule terrace.

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, regardless of its dimensions. And I’d argue that right now, this peaceful, tranquil period between Christmas and January, 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 rather be more formal, draw a plan of your borders, 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 frozen solid, then save it for a quiet weekend in January instead. But if things are simply cool, damp and docile 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 chances are that a different position will only enhance their situation.

One of my most cherished aspects about gardening is the remarkably fluid process of how plans unfurl once I’m in the garden. But if you’d rather be more formal, create a diagram of your beds, whether current or envisioned, to help get things in their new place. Ready the new planting hole before you lift anything: dig a hole that’s amply deep and more spacious than the anticipated rootball (look to the crown of the plant for a useful indicator), and add some organic matter or mature compost. Then lift, plonk, bed down firmly and give a thorough watering 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. While you wait, you can enjoy your new planting arrangement through its bare-bones framework; and if it’s not working for you, have another shuffle before spring comes. A new perspective on the garden for the new year.