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A common observation in plots cared for by the same person – or people – is that the finest examples rarely remain the same. Gardeners with a deep passion for their plots rearrange elements all the time, with the same assurance and inquisitiveness as those restless interior design lovers who change their curtains twice a year with the seasonal time shifts.

The most extended period I've managed a plot is five years, but even in that span it seems as though I made a multitude of distinct spaces. The suck-it-and-see approach of lifting something that seems somewhat discontent has been a stalwart of mine since I started pot cultivation on a minuscule terrace.

Yes, there’s a risk that moving 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 slow, quiet time between Christmas and January, 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 rather be more formal, sketch your beds, whether current or proposed, to help position specimens in their new place.

If you live in an area that has been damp to the point of boggy, or frozen solid, then postpone it until a calm Saturday in January instead. But if things are simply chilly, moist, and dormant 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 causing you slight concern – whether it’s because you wish they were growing better, they’re cramped in an undersized container or looking deathly – because the likelihood is that a new spot will only enhance their situation.

One of my favourite things about gardening is the almost free-flowing nature of how plans unfurl once I’m out there. But if you’d rather be more formal, draw up a sketch of your beds, whether current or envisioned, to help place items in their new place. Ready the new planting hole before you lift anything: dig a hole that’s generously deep and larger than the expected root mass (look to the crown of the plant for a good guide), 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 fresh abode.

Depending on the plant, you won’t see 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 to your liking, have a second rearrangement before spring comes. A new perspective on the garden for the new year.