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A common observation 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 shuffle things around all the time, with the same confidence and curiosity as those restless interior design lovers who change their curtains biannually with the seasonal time shifts.

The longest I’ve ever had a plot is five years, but even in that span it seems as though I made several different gardens. The trial-and-error method of transplanting a specimen that isn’t terribly happy has been a stalwart of mine since I started pot cultivation 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 playing 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 slowly begin to lengthen again, is a beautifully symbolic 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 completely iced over, then save it for a calm Saturday in January instead. But if things are simply cool, damp and docile out there, you’ve got the perfect conditions for shuffling some plants around, because many long-lived plants are resting. 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 frustrated in a too-small pot or appearing quite poorly – because the chances are that a new spot will only improve things.

One of my most cherished aspects 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, 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 dig anything up: dig a hole that’s amply deep and larger than the expected root mass (look to the crown of the plant for a useful indicator), and add some organic matter or mature compost. Then dig up, place, and firm in securely and provide a good water to mark the plant’s fresh abode.

Based on the species, 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 appreciate the revised layout through its skeletal structure; and if it’s not working for you, have another shuffle before the season arrives. A fresh take on the garden for the new year.