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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. People who truly love their plots shuffle things around all the time, with the same confidence and curiosity as those restless interior design lovers 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 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 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 free and relatively easy way of experimenting with new shapes, forms and ideas in your plot, no matter the size. And I’d argue that right now, this peaceful, tranquil period between Christmas and January, as one calendar transitions to another, as the days gradually start to stretch out again, is a symbolically lovely time to do it.

If you’d rather be more formal, draw a plan of your borders, whether current or proposed, to help get things in their new place.

If you live in an area that has been wet enough to become waterlogged, or completely iced over, then save it for a calm Saturday 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 long-lived plants are resting. I recommend you start with the things that are bothering you a bit – whether it’s because you hope for more vigorous growth, 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 place items in their new place. Ready the new planting hole before you lift anything: excavate a space that’s amply deep and larger than the anticipated rootball (look to the base of the specimen for a useful indicator), and add some organic matter or mature compost. Then dig up, place, and firm in securely and provide a thorough watering to mark 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 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 coming year.