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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 assurance and inquisitiveness as those restless interior design lovers who change their curtains biannually with the changing of the clocks.

The most extended period I've managed 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 chance that relocating a plant may stress or test it, but it’s also a free and relatively easy way of playing with new shapes, forms and ideas in your plot, regardless of its dimensions. And I’d contend that right now, this slow, quiet time 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 current or proposed, to help position specimens in their fresh location.

If you live in an area that has been damp to the point of boggy, or completely iced over, 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 ideal circumstances for rearranging your greenery, because many perennials will be dormant. I recommend you begin with the things that are bothering you a bit – whether it’s because you hope for more vigorous growth, they’re cramped in an undersized container or looking deathly – because the likelihood is that a different position will only improve things.

One of my most cherished aspects 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, create a diagram of your beds, whether current or envisioned, to help get things in their new place. Prepare the landing site before you dig anything up: excavate a space that’s generously deep and more spacious 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 dig up, place, and firm in securely and provide a thorough watering to mark the plant’s new home.

Depending on the plant, you may not witness the results of your work for a couple of weeks, but there’s a satisfaction in this, too. During this period, you can enjoy your new planting arrangement through its bare-bones framework; and if it’s not working for you, have a second rearrangement before the season arrives. A fresh take on the garden for the new year.