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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. Gardeners with a deep passion for their plots shuffle things around all the time, with the same confidence and curiosity as those constantly redecorating homeowners who swap out their drapes twice a year with the seasonal time shifts.

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 suck-it-and-see approach 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 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, no matter the size. And I’d contend that right now, this slow, quiet time between the holidays and the new year, as one calendar transitions to another, as the days slowly begin to lengthen again, is a symbolically lovely time to do it.

If you’d prefer a structured approach, draw a plan of your borders, whether current or proposed, to help get things in their new place.

If you live in an area that has been wet enough to become waterlogged, or frozen solid, then save it for a quiet weekend 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 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 frustrated in a too-small pot or looking deathly – 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 existing or planned, to help get things in their new place. Prepare the landing site before you lift anything: dig a hole that’s generously deep and more spacious than the anticipated rootball (look to the base of the specimen for a good guide), and add some mulch or well-rotted compost. Then dig up, place, and firm in securely and provide a good water to mark the plant’s fresh abode.

Depending on the plant, you won’t see the fruits of your labour 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 to your liking, have another shuffle before spring comes. A new perspective on the garden for the coming year.