Also, we really hate the rocks. Not just for looks (we really prefer a dark mulch), but when the rocks escape this bed–like they do–and end up in the grass and then in the lawn mower, that. is. scary! So that evening, while I was waiting on Chris to finish trimming so I could mow (we love that system), I decided I would remove the rocks and get to the bottom of this weed problem.

I honestly (seriously) thought it would take me an hour tops to remove all the rocks.  Chris laughed and said, “That’s a two-hour job, babe.”  And we were both wrong.  The next morning, I still had barely made a dent in the project.

For reference sake, you can see how much of the bed I still had left, below.  Greta and I continued to hit the rocks with all of our spare time and this morning, we (she helped as much as a two-year old could) finally were at a point where we could peel back the black lining and get rid of that, too.

And therein lied the problem.  Multiple layers of black weed-blocking liner with nests of tangled roots.  No wonder weeding this bed felt like a never-ending task, the roots had found there way through multiple layers and the rocks and got all intertwined in the meantime.

My heart skipped a few beats when I first peeled back the liner, and now I only feel frustrated.  Is it weird to feel frustrated at roots?  Although I suppose the only appropriate thing to be under, what felt like, a bottomless rock pit, would be a bottomless root pit.  Needless to say, I won’t be laying any fresh weed-blocking fabric.