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A common observation in plots cared for by the same person – or people – 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 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 span it seems as though I made a multitude of distinct spaces. The suck-it-and-see approach of transplanting a specimen that isn’t terribly happy has been a trusted strategy 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 argue that right now, this peaceful, tranquil period 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, sketch your beds, whether existing or planned, to help get things in their fresh location.

If you live in an area that has been wet enough to become waterlogged, or frozen solid, 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 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 cramped in an undersized container or appearing quite poorly – 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 ideas develop once I’m out there. But if you’d rather be more formal, draw up a sketch of your beds, whether current or envisioned, to help place items in their designated spot. Ready the new planting hole before you lift anything: excavate a space that’s generously deep and larger than the expected root mass (look to the base of the specimen for a good guide), and add some mulch or well-rotted compost. Then lift, plonk, bed down securely and provide a good water to mark the plant’s fresh abode.

Based on the species, you may not witness the fruits of your labour for a couple of weeks, but there’s a satisfaction in this, too. While you wait, you can enjoy your new planting arrangement through its skeletal structure; and if it’s not to your liking, have another shuffle before the season arrives. A new perspective on the garden for the new year.