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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. Gardeners with a deep passion for their plots rearrange elements all the time, with the same assurance and inquisitiveness as those restless interior design lovers who swap out their drapes twice a year 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 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 stress or test it, but it’s also a costless and quite simple way of experimenting with new shapes, forms and ideas in your plot, regardless of its dimensions. And I’d contend 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, sketch your beds, 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 save it for 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 long-lived plants are resting. I recommend you begin with the things that are bothering you a bit – whether it’s because you wish they were growing better, they’re frustrated in a too-small pot or looking deathly – because the chances are 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 rather be more formal, draw up a sketch of your beds, whether current or envisioned, to help get things in their new place. Prepare the landing site 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 mulch or well-rotted compost. Then dig up, place, and firm in securely and provide a thorough watering to mark the plant’s new home.

Based on the species, you may not witness the results of your work for a few weeks yet, but there’s a satisfaction in this, 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.