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Something I’ve noticed in gardens that have been tended by the same person – or people – 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 biannually with the changing of the clocks.

The longest I’ve ever had 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 transplanting a specimen that seems somewhat discontent has been a stalwart of mine since I started container gardening on a minuscule terrace.

Yes, there’s a chance that relocating a plant may overwhelm or challenge it, but it’s also a costless and quite simple way of experimenting with new contours, structures, and concepts in your plot, no matter the size. And I’d contend that right now, this peaceful, tranquil period between the holidays and the new year, between one year and the next, as the days slowly begin to lengthen 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 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 perfect conditions for rearranging your greenery, because many perennials will be dormant. I recommend you start with the things that are causing you slight concern – 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 different position will only enhance their situation.

One of my favourite things about gardening is the remarkably fluid process 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 existing or planned, to help get things in their new place. Ready the new planting hole before you dig anything up: excavate a space that’s amply deep and more spacious than the expected root mass (look to the base of the specimen for a good guide), and add some organic matter or mature compost. Then dig up, place, and firm in firmly and give a thorough watering to mark the plant’s fresh abode.

Depending on the plant, you won’t see the fruits of your labour 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 bare-bones framework; and if it’s not working for you, have a second rearrangement before the season arrives. A new perspective on the garden for the coming year.