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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. Gardeners with a deep passion for their plots shuffle things around 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 longest I’ve ever had a plot is five years, but even in that time I feel as though I made several different gardens. 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 tiny balcony.

Yes, there’s a risk that moving 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, regardless of its dimensions. And I’d contend 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 rather be more formal, draw a plan of your borders, whether existing or planned, to help position specimens in their new place.

If you live in an area that has been wet enough to become waterlogged, or completely iced over, then postpone it until a quiet weekend in January instead. But if things are simply cool, damp and docile out there, you’ve got the ideal circumstances for shuffling some plants around, because many perennials will be dormant. I recommend you begin 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 appearing quite poorly – because the likelihood is that a different position will only improve things.

One of my most cherished aspects about gardening is the remarkably fluid process of how ideas develop once I’m out there. But if you’d prefer a methodical plan, draw up a sketch of your beds, whether current or envisioned, to help get things in their designated spot. 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 lift, plonk, bed down firmly and give a good water to celebrate the plant’s fresh abode.

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. While you wait, you can enjoy your new planting arrangement through its bare-bones framework; and if it’s not working for you, have another shuffle before spring comes. A new perspective on the garden for the coming year.