I broke a fork last year trying to get a tree out of a hole... After that, I gave up on the idea of "Digging" with forks... Just too many rocks around here.... My usual practice is to slam the spade/shovel into the ground... Watch for any fires that were started by the sparks... Pry out the 1st rock.. See if the hole is big enough for the plant Pry out a couple more rocks.. Check if the hole is big enough yet.... Lather, rinse, repeat I was digging yesterday evening - and it was getting dark... Oooohhh.. Look at all those sparks, and the nice pile of baseball sized rocks.... (I got most of the big ones in the last 2 years...) I did admire the dirt that came out, though... The 3 years of trying to improve soil health are paying off - the dirt was much darker and richer.. Actually quite a bit easier to dig than when I first moved in... which was like trying to stick a shovel into the middle of a cement driveway.... The soil was so bad that not even WEEDS would grow when I moved in... Literally - it was just bare dirt that stayed bare.... Now .... weeds will grow... Thanks

I am getting rid of a few of my knockouts just to make room for more interesting roses. Intrigue is on the list too, I have a tree rose intruige that is a one cane wonder, it looks bad compared to the other bushy full tree roses I have. The intruigue rose in the ground is not much better, it is still under a foot tall after being in the ground for over a year. It was a body bag purchase, so I didn't expect much. Europeana is coming close to being gone, in our cool and rainy spring it has become a PM magnet. I never have had powdery mildew before and the fungicides I am using don't seem to put a dent in it. Hopefully it will clear up with some warm weather.

Maisie - I'm flattered and humbled by your reiterating my comment. Thank you! I simply accepted when I moved back to my family home that the house faces East and the soil is what it is which fortunately for me was pretty much organic, slightly acidic sandy loam. I've never regretted the amount of shade that came with what I consider my little green acre. Generally perennials will adapt (or fail to adapt) to the soil/moisture conditions in which they're planted. I celebrated those that thrived, regretted those that didn't, and accepted the outcomes with few regrets. Aside from GW, what happens in the garden, stays in the garden?

I'm thrilled when I can plant a new rose in an old rose hole. That means I don't have to get out the pick axe to dig another hole in this hard, rocky clay. I do shovel out most of the old soil and refresh it with fresh compost and rose food before putting it back into the hole. The young fella who sometimes digs holes for me told me last week he couldn't dig a hole where I wanted one because the fence builders had poured their left over cement there. Upon further inspection, there was no cement. My soil is that hard. Lilyfinch, your Cream Veranda is what I'm hoping for next year. It is coming out of the urn it has been in for 3 years and going in the ground. I think it will be happier. Vaporvac, I think you were sold a dud. There have been no other negative reviews of Quietness that I have seen. If it's own root, try another one grafted, or vice versa and from another vendor. My own root band took off so quickly, it looks like a 3 or 4 year old bush in it's first year. I bought another one for a prominent spot.