Around the pool
While at the garden centre we admired the matting they had on the floor which acts as a weed barrier but allows water to pass through. Clearly it is pretty tough as it is walked on by customers every day. After finding an assistant we managed to convey we wanted to buy some of the matting and asked where it was, the man smiled nicely turned 45 degrees and pointed to the rolls just to our right!
We bought what we thought was enough to put on the slope by the pool but had to return later in the day for more (and the giant staples used to secure it to the ground).
You can see the trench dug at the bottom of the slope for the retaining wall. This may get built in the summer (Alan are you reading this????? !!).
This will hopefully not only keep the weeds at bay but also reduce the number of insects who drown in the pool.