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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. People who truly love their plots rearrange elements all the time, with the same confidence and curiosity as those constantly redecorating homeowners who change their curtains biannually 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 several different gardens. The suck-it-and-see approach of lifting something that seems somewhat discontent has been a trusted strategy since I started pot cultivation on a tiny balcony.

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 gradually start to stretch out again, is a beautifully symbolic time to do it.

If you’d prefer a structured approach, sketch your beds, whether existing or planned, to help position specimens in their fresh location.

If you live in an area that has been wet enough to become waterlogged, or completely iced over, 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 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 wish they were growing better, they’re frustrated in a too-small pot or looking deathly – because the chances are 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 plans unfurl once I’m in the garden. 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 designated spot. Prepare the landing site before you dig anything up: dig a hole that’s amply deep and more spacious than the anticipated rootball (look to the crown of the plant for a useful indicator), and add some organic matter or mature compost. Then lift, plonk, bed down securely and provide a good water to mark the plant’s new home.

Depending on the plant, you may not witness the results of your work for a few weeks yet, but there’s a pleasure in this process, too. While you wait, you can appreciate the revised layout through its skeletal structure; and if it’s not working for you, have another shuffle before spring comes. A fresh take on the garden for the new year.