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Something I’ve noticed in gardens that have been tended by the same person – or people – is that the best ones never stay 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 swap out their drapes twice a year with the seasonal time shifts.

The most extended period I've managed a plot is five years, but even in that time I feel 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 minuscule terrace.

Yes, there’s a risk that moving a plant may overwhelm or challenge it, but it’s also a costless and quite simple way of experimenting with new shapes, forms and ideas in your plot, regardless of its dimensions. 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 beautifully symbolic time to do it.

If you’d prefer a structured approach, draw a plan of your borders, whether current or proposed, to help position specimens 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 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 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 looking deathly – because the chances are that a new spot will only improve things.

One of my favourite things about gardening is the remarkably fluid process of how ideas develop once I’m out there. But if you’d rather be more formal, draw up a sketch of your beds, whether current or envisioned, to help place items in their new place. Ready the new planting hole before you dig anything up: dig a hole that’s amply 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 dig up, place, and firm in firmly and give a good water to mark the plant’s fresh abode.

Depending on the plant, you may not witness the fruits of your labour for a couple of weeks, but there’s a satisfaction in this, too. During this period, 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 fresh take on the garden for the new year.