My springtime ritual of planting is more accurately described as rooting plants in pots.  Each spring, around memorial day (the earliest date we can safely plant outdoors in our high-altitude rocky mountain valley), i fill my terra cotta pots with bright orange and pink geraniums.  This year I also added chaotically coloured zinnias. The annual ritual has been the same for years. i make my early morning pilgrimage to the plant nursery nearby to stock up on potted flowers and new soil. i de-archive my motley collection of terra cotta pots from hibernation in the shed, dust them off, loosen the old soil, moisten it, and fertilize it with fish meal.  donning my garden gloves, I decant the young geraniums from their green plastic pots,  massage the root balls, plunge the new plants into the prepared soil, and  scoop more handfuls of fresh dirt to top them off.  it is always a deeply satisfying day — one that reminds me to prepare and nourish the ground before rooting anything new, and to feed, water and prune regularly. most importantly, it reminds me to take time to enjoy the beauty of the gorgeous colourful flowers.  happy spring.