I like that rjb... ;-)
Actually, Chicago. But same concept of sheltering the bed from a harsh winter.
littlek, right. (Don't want to mess up the existing garden.)
And I have a compost pile, too, not about starting one -- we may add another level on, though.
I'll use the existing compost we have for the vegetable section.
E.G. called his dad, (that was the deal, I ask you guys, he calls his dad

) and was told that mowing would be fine, as long as it leaves only a thin layer of mulch -- too much and we need to rake up the extra and get rid of it.
That sounds reasonable to me. Still worry about the mower (machine) and mower (person), but E.G. says he's gone through it several times and taken out the rocks and such.