Jo Ann wrote:

[....]
I don't want to disturb the bulbs (so can't just remove shovel loads
of dirt and sift it).

for reclaiming hardwood mulch I made a frame about 1.5 feet
by 1.5 feet. then covered the bottom with wire mesh. the
wire mesh has openings about .25 inch square. grab a few
hand fulls of mulch, toss into the frame shake and dump
the clean dirt free mulch into the collection container.

[....]
By the way, the stones do almost nothing to keep the weeds down.

that's very true. in a walk way I put stone in the
weeds grew great. later I took up the stone and put
heavy tarps down and then put the stone back on top
of the tarps. I still get weeds growing in the stone.
they are a little easier to pull since their roots
never make it into the dirt.


I predict you
will regret mulching the bed with gravel.

stones never worked well for me in a flower bed.