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Something I’ve noticed in plots cared for by the same individual or group is that the best ones never stay the same. People who truly love their plots shuffle things around all the time, with the same assurance and inquisitiveness as those constantly redecorating homeowners who swap out their drapes twice a year with the changing of the clocks.

The most extended period I've managed 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 lifting something that seems somewhat discontent has been a trusted strategy since I started pot cultivation 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 shapes, forms and ideas in your plot, regardless of its dimensions. And I’d contend that right now, this peaceful, tranquil period between the holidays and the new year, as one calendar transitions to another, as the days slowly begin to lengthen 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 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 calm Saturday 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 start with the things that are causing you slight concern – whether it’s because you hope for more vigorous growth, they’re frustrated in a too-small pot or looking deathly – because the likelihood is that a different position will only improve things.

One of my favourite things 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 place items in their new place. Prepare the landing site before you dig anything up: dig a hole that’s generously deep and more spacious than the expected root mass (look to the crown of the plant for a good guide), and add some mulch or well-rotted compost. Then lift, plonk, bed down firmly and give a thorough watering to mark the plant’s new home.

Depending on the plant, 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 appreciate the revised layout through its skeletal structure; and if it’s not working for you, have another shuffle before spring comes. A new perspective on the garden for the coming year.