One year I volunteered to put in a flower garden for my sister in law in Arkansas. I dug and dug and dug until I could dig no more, and all I dug up was one rock after another. I could not believe anything could grow in that rocky soil! I ended up telling her to make a raised bed, as there just wasn't enough soil available to plant any roses in her yard.
Funny thing is, I brought a bucket of rocks home with me because if I want a rock here, I have to go buy it.
What amazes me is, I see beautiful gardens all over Arkansas, and I know my aunt there has incredibly beautiful flower beds. She has a big rock pile at the edge of every bed, and she swears they work their way up through the soil, and she pulls out a new crop of them every spring.
The Austin roses in the Rose Garden in Tyler are HUGE!!! I might have a chance to go back there in a few weeks. Turns out my husband is going to be working in Texas again this year.