It's fun to get your hands dirty especially when you can do it with other people who love gardening.

I joined a group of a dozen or so volunteers who meet weekly to re-pot plants at Dixon Gallery and Gardens. Two of them, Emelia Miekicki and Virginia Kletner, had told me how much they learn while they are volunteering so I decided to join in.

We spent the morning transplanting seedlings such as wild columbine and foamflowers from tiny pots into slightly bigger ones. Eventually the plants will grow big and strong and be sold at the Dixon's annual wildflower sale in next April.

Lorie Emens, horticulturist at the Dixon, first gave us a lesson in "how to plant, the Lorie method."

Plants should be transplanted if, when you turn them out of the pot into the palm of your hand, you can see their roots on the outside of the soil. This is before the roots start circling the inside of the pot and become " root-bound."

Gardeners should avoid waiting until a plant is root-bound to transplant it because cutting through the roots, as you must do to replant it, is stressful to the plant.

First dampen the potting soil so it is wet enough to clump together when squeezed but not enough that water drips out of it.

The new pots should be just one size up or about 2 inches larger than the original.

The soil should be added in thirds. The first third should be packed firmly into the bottom of the new pot. This keeps the soil from running out the bottom when the pot is watered.

The second third should be added around the plant's roots and gently firmed to hold the plant in an upright position.

The final third is then added to the top of the pot and gently tapped down.

The plant should always be positioned so the new soil is the same level as the soil in the original pot.

These guidellines also work for adding several plants to container gardens.