You don't have to work in them every night, by any means, once they're established. The garden will take most work at the beginning of the season. Did you use soil from your property, or buy topsoil or something? Since it's the first time you're using this soil it is a good idea to have it tested for pH, N, P, and K. The store bought kits aren't accurate, best to send a soil sample to your county extension. Then you know what you're working with. If you have to add something to balance or boost the nutrients, keep in mind that it's better to feed the soil than the plants. This will make it better each year. Using plant food is kind of equivalent to you living on vitamins instead of food. There are a lot of ideas about what to feed the soil. There's a lot written about using rock powders to supply phosphorus and potassium (P,K). I like these, b/c it basically replicates the way nature builds soil: from breaking down rock into tiny particles. People often supply the soil with P with bone meal, bone char, rock phosphate. For K, greensand, or a mixture of wood ashes and kelp. Nitrogen is supplied by blood meal, fish meal, alfalfa meal... Compost may supply it too, depending on what it's made of. I never add N b/c my compost seems to supply enough. If you don't make your own compost, you can buy it in bags. Add a couple of inches the first year, only a half or one inch yearly after that. You can put it on top of the soil now that the beds are already planted. In the future you take the compost and whatever nutrients you're using and kind of chop it in up and down with a rake or hoe. You want to mix it into the top few inches. As others have said, use a trowel or get a hand weeder and scrape along just under the surface of the soil to cut the roots. Just a sweeping motion. Get them while they're small, it's easiest this way. After than, mulch will keep them down. Mulch does a lot of things: it keeps the soil cool, keeps it from drying out, gives worms something to work, eventually breaks down and adds organic matter to your soil. You'll be amazed when you lift up a section of mulch and see the beautiful soil underneath.

Hello Everyone, Alex....LOL you are definately an addict!!! "Denial" LOL ids the true sign!!! You are way to funny!!! Hope all is growing well for you up North!!! We did have those strong storms and it was really windy here, hail and tons of rain. Mike, You are right some of the other DR's have turned their backs to this one!!! LOL they are also blushing too! LOL!! Alex has a good point!!! When we have had it with some of the other forums.....we can just post this pic of the DR and we can all just sit back and chuckle... Great idea Alex!!! Hunter, Im soo glad to hear that u have a Plumeria!! You will enjoy going with your family to Kentucky. All of your plants and tropicals will adjust in time. Im glad to see you here on this forum too! You will meet some great people here who also love palms and other tropicals. Thanks for the nice comments!!! If you would like to try a second cutting of the one you are talking about..email me and we can talk. OK? go to my page and then you can find my email or if you cant find it then just reply to this post and ill post it for you!!! Take care everyone!!!! Laura in VB

Uh huh, sure. I have a Jack Russel and I bet that is a very well edited video. :)) Mine "steals" slippers, prances in front of me so I can see he has it. Runs around the dining table a few times then up the stairs. He then stands at the top and barks with a mouth full of slipper. If I ignore him he'll bring it down to me. Then after I take it, he pushes open the pantry door and looks from me to his treats and back to me again. I'd like to know what this little dog was REALLY doing when he was being so "helpful". LOL!!

Kristine, thank you for starting such a wonderful thread. I got behind on reading the later posts, and just read the thread again from beginning to end. Although my wish list has just grown immensely from this thread. BenT - I got such a laugh out of your Dolly Parton pic, perhaps just my silly mind, but the two-bloom shot of her is just, well, priceless! And then your comment: "We want nice companion plants , but we don’t want them to take up any space. Sometimes when a companion plants grows nicely, I’ll eye that space and think ‘is there enough space to dig it out and replace it with a rose?" I have a couple of non-roses that I planted not that long ago, not thinking I'd be adding more roses. But here I go again. I'm now eyeing that space as "prime" rose space. Zzzone - 49 roses in one year, that's some feat. I think I was only at 3 roses in my first year. 8 years later, I recently counted 124, before starting to break new ground for more. At many points I have thought - ok, I'm done. No more. HA. I don't think that maximum number exists for me. I have at least 20 more as "must have's" on my current wish list, with may more "desired" adding to the count. Whenever I'm feeling a bit down, or like I need a lift, nothing like a walk through my roses to make me smile.