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Something I’ve noticed in gardens that have been tended by the same individual or group 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 confidence and curiosity as those restless interior design lovers who swap out their drapes twice a year 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 a multitude of distinct spaces. The trial-and-error method of transplanting a specimen that seems somewhat discontent has been a trusted strategy since I started container gardening on a minuscule terrace.

Yes, there’s a chance that relocating a plant may overwhelm or challenge it, but it’s also a costless and quite simple way of playing 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 the holidays and the new year, between one year and the next, as the days slowly begin to lengthen 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 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 ideal circumstances for shuffling some plants around, because many long-lived plants are resting. I recommend you start with the things that are bothering you a bit – whether it’s because you wish they were growing better, they’re cramped in an undersized container or appearing quite poorly – because the likelihood is that a new spot will only improve things.

One of my favourite things about gardening is the almost free-flowing nature 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 existing or planned, 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 larger than the anticipated rootball (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 firmly and give a good water to celebrate the plant’s new home.

Based on the species, 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 enjoy your new planting arrangement through its skeletal structure; and if it’s not to your liking, have another shuffle before the season arrives. A fresh take on the garden for the coming year.