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A common observation 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 most extended period I've managed 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 lifting something that isn’t terribly happy 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 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 the holidays and the new year, between one year and the next, as the days gradually start to stretch out again, is a symbolically lovely time to do it.

If you’d prefer a structured approach, draw a plan of your borders, whether existing or planned, to help get things in their fresh location.

If you live in an area that has been damp to the point of boggy, 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 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 enhance their situation.

One of my most cherished aspects about gardening is the almost free-flowing nature of how ideas develop once I’m in the garden. But if you’d rather be more formal, create a diagram of your beds, whether current or envisioned, 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 expected root mass (look to the crown of the plant for a useful indicator), and add some mulch or well-rotted compost. Then lift, plonk, bed down securely and provide a thorough watering 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 pleasure in this process, too. During this period, you can appreciate the revised layout through its bare-bones framework; and if it’s not to your liking, have another shuffle before the season arrives. A new perspective on the garden for the new year.