Well, no wondering why the buddleia (and everything else in that bed) is doing so wonderfully well and mine never did a thing! That's exactly what Bob runs into when he tries to dig a hole and is why many of my plants are in pots ... lol. Did you leave the big rocks or were you able to use them somewhere as decor?

Thanks for the photos. The combination of plants is beautiful!

You must be crazy, indeed, but it was worth it, wasn't it?

Omar

Thanks, Ragna. I had hoped to get the largest rock out in one piece as it would have made a beautiful accent piece, but I had to break it up to remove it. I did use some of the smaller ones as accent rocks elsewhere in my yard. It took me months of weekends to dig and refill this bed. I used the dug out caliche on a large hill to level that out a bit.

At some point I want to get flagstone to place on top of the decomposed granite pathways.

Yes, it was worth the effort--less frequent watering and more planting options.

Well, crazy to a lot of people, but not to gardeners...............beautiful results, for sure.

Hard work + one dedicated gardener = a lovely patch to be proud of! Your photos remind me how lucky I am to have my sandy loam.
You did an incredible job!

Michelle

Gorgeous flowers. Like Ragna, it's no wonder mine never survived. I didn't chisel out the white rock for it.

Oh yes, we'll worth it, that bed is beautiful and the plants look very happy

Wow! That is something to be proud of.

Thanks for the nice comments, everyone. I'll post some more pictures once I can finish out the pathway around the front of the bed. All this rain has kept me from progressing much on that project as I have bermuda grass to dig up on the other side of the bed. I loathe bermuda.

Looks really good!

This is why I have raised beds. Digging is a lot of work. I prefer the planting part.

Me too. Absolutely LOOOOOOATH Bermuda.

Good pictures. And I have just learned that the best way to trim a Buddleia is the way you do it.

If you are not adverse to using chemicals Ortho Grass-B-Gone works great to kill Burmuda grass and doesn't harm other plants. It kills only grass. It takes about two weeks for it to turn brown. It kills the roots. Otherwise, for me anyway, there is just no way to get rid of it. It's available in a spray bottle for about $7 anywhere they sell garden products.