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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 shuffle things around all the time, with the same confidence and curiosity as those constantly redecorating homeowners who change their curtains biannually 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 lifting something that isn’t terribly happy has been a trusted strategy since I started container gardening on a minuscule terrace.

Yes, there’s a chance that relocating a plant may stress or test it, but it’s also a free and relatively easy way of experimenting with new shapes, forms and ideas in your plot, regardless of its dimensions. And I’d argue that right now, this peaceful, tranquil period between Christmas and January, between one year and the next, as the days slowly begin to lengthen again, is a symbolically lovely time to do it.

If you’d rather be more formal, sketch your beds, whether existing or planned, to help get things in their new place.

If you live in an area that has been damp to the point of boggy, or completely iced over, 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 shuffling some plants around, because many perennials will be dormant. 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 cramped in an undersized container 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 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 place items in their new place. Prepare the landing site before you dig anything up: excavate a space that’s generously 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 dig up, place, and firm in securely and provide a thorough watering to celebrate the plant’s new home.

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. While you wait, you can enjoy your new planting arrangement through its skeletal structure; and if it’s not to your liking, have a second rearrangement before spring comes. A new perspective on the garden for the coming year.