Good luck, Ginny.
What's wrong with a little weeding? The trick is, just don't make your rock garden larger than you can comfortably handle.
I think concrete is a bad idea, but prove me wrong.
Rock arrangement is very important and almost all beginners get it wrong.
Mike

Weeds will still blow in from somewhere...everywhere. Not all weeds come from below.

tj

I tryed to bite my tongue,but that is the dumbest idea I have heard ever.

Not only should you not only make it as large as you can comfortably handle, you should plant it as thick as you can without covering up the rocks so the weeds don't stand much of a chance.
Here's one of mine.
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Here's the smallest Rock Garden I could come up with. A friend made it.
Mike

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Do you mind sharing what flowers you have in there? It looks like maybe creeping phlox and alyssum or candytuft from the picture..what is the yellow flower to the left? Beautiful! Is that your home up above? Seattle, you all get a lot of rainfall, don't you?

Creeping Phlox, Iberis, and Sedums. The yellow plant on the lower left is a yellow Sedum. There are a few Azaleas also.
Mike

pippi, yes, it rains a lot here near Seattle. I have to put moss killer on my back. We even have a festival celebrating the rain. It's called Bumbershoot....another name for umbrella.
Mike

I'm with Botann on planting as much as possible between the rocks, greenery and flowers really showcase the rocks so nicely! Love all the color and contrast between the rocks. Your rock garden is beautiful Botann.

I have a shady hillside where I am starting some groundcover patches. Well last week I had a patio built and the construction guy dumped a huge load of dirt on the hillside between these areas. I put down some weed-stop fabric and distributed the dirt so that the lawn would be eliminated & I could plant more groundcover next year.
Then I decided "I'm tired of planting stuff. Why not make the area into a rock-scape with garden sculpture instead."
I could use pressure treated 4x4s as "steps' or "terraces" and fill the areas between with pebbles, large tiles from Lowes, or whatever interesting objects I can find. (old patio stones too.) And a nice garden sculpture if I can find one.
There was no thread for rock-scapes so this was the closest I could find. I'm looking for technical advice or pictures before I get started with this.

Ginny, how is that concrete rock garden coming along?
Woodswalker, do you have a picture of your site?
That would sure help.
Mike