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Something I’ve noticed in plots cared for by the same person – or people – is that the best ones never stay the same. Gardeners with a deep passion for their plots rearrange elements all the time, with the same assurance and inquisitiveness as those constantly redecorating homeowners who swap out their drapes twice a year with the changing of the clocks.

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 tiny balcony.

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 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 beautifully symbolic time to do it.

If you’d prefer a structured approach, sketch your beds, whether current or proposed, 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 long-lived plants are resting. I recommend you start with the things that are causing you slight concern – whether it’s because you hope for more vigorous growth, 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 remarkably fluid process of how ideas develop 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 place items 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 useful indicator), and add some mulch or well-rotted compost. Then lift, plonk, bed down securely and provide a good water to celebrate the plant’s fresh abode.

Based on the species, you may not witness the results of your work 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 skeletal structure; and if it’s not working for you, have a second rearrangement before the season arrives. A fresh take on the garden for the coming year.