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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. People who truly love their plots rearrange elements all the time, with the same assurance and inquisitiveness as those restless interior design lovers 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 span it seems 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 stalwart of mine since I started container gardening on a minuscule terrace.

Yes, there’s a risk that moving a plant may stress or test it, but it’s also a costless and quite simple way of playing with new contours, structures, and concepts in your plot, no matter the size. And I’d contend that right now, this slow, quiet time 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 rather be more formal, draw a plan of your borders, whether current or proposed, to help get things in their fresh location.

If you live in an area that has been damp to the point of boggy, or frozen solid, then postpone it until 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 perennials will be dormant. 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 looking deathly – because the chances are that a new spot will only improve things.

One of my favourite things 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 new place. Prepare the landing site before you dig anything up: dig a hole that’s generously deep and more spacious than the anticipated rootball (look to the base of the specimen for a useful indicator), and add some mulch or well-rotted compost. Then dig up, place, and firm in firmly and give a thorough watering to celebrate the plant’s new home.

Depending on the plant, you may not witness the results of your work for a couple of weeks, but there’s a pleasure in this process, too. During this period, you can enjoy your new planting arrangement through its bare-bones framework; and if it’s not to your liking, have another shuffle before spring comes. A new perspective on the garden for the new year.