I think Ben has it about right, unless there are any really persistent weeds known to you. I would take your own Council on weedkillers, but make sure that they are safe varieties as I am sure you will.
I think you have a decent history here so you should be able to make a good estimate of where you want things - light, prevailing wind, microclimates, how you will relate the garden to the house for vistas, movement, indoor vs outdoor living etc, and how that fits with you and your family. Mine your experience.
For me the important thing is to take the time to reflect, as suggested, so you can make the garden you like. And perhaps to learn from others, to visit and pick up ideas - I love reading what I call biographies of a building, which is how something has developed to match the needs of the people who inhabit it over many years.
Whilst you may not want a big JCB to recreate the Somme, they are huge fun to play with and learn from - so why not put in at least one garden project that will let you get one in for a day or two. In the UK we even have a chain of theme parks called "Diggrland" where adult children can go to play.
Ferdinand
“Rivers know this ... we will get there in the end.”
Ref. your query about putting weedkiller in the ground to prevent regrowth will not work. Any weedkiller that works this way will also kill off any new plants that you plant in that area for a considerable time to come and is usually used on driveways/parking areas etc.
The less noxious weedkillers (usual ingredient is glyphosate) have to be applied to growing foliage so it can be absorbed by the plant and passed down to the roots where it kills them off ... it then is inactivated in the soil and will not harm future plantings.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Ref. your query about putting weedkiller in the ground to prevent regrowth will not work. Any weedkiller that works this way will also kill off any new plants that you plant in that area for a considerable time to come and is usually used on driveways/parking areas etc.
The less noxious weedkillers (usual ingredient is glyphosate) have to be applied to growing foliage so it can be absorbed by the plant and passed down to the roots where it kills them off ... it then is inactivated in the soil and will not harm future plantings.
Further to that, an organic weedkiller (in the UK at least) is Copper Sulphate, which iirc the Soil Association approves of being used on organic farms in quite surprisingly large quantities.
You just get a sack of copper sulphate off say Ebay and make up a saturated solution.
I use it with a Super Soaker for controlling moss on my roof.
“Rivers know this ... we will get there in the end.”
@Ferdinand2000 - I believe copper sulphate was withdrawn from sale as a garden chemical in Britain, in 2002. Not sure if it's available in US - but I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a weedkiller. It's considered far more toxic than glyphosate, and is known to accumulate in soil, is very toxic to aquatic life and may cause cancer... among other things. Copper sulphate is found as a residue in organic fruit and veg.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
@Ferdinand2000 - I believe copper sulphate was withdrawn from sale as a garden chemical in Britain, in 2002. Not sure if it's available in US - but I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a weedkiller. It's considered far more toxic than glyphosate, and is known to accumulate in soil, is very toxic to aquatic life and may cause cancer... among other things. Copper sulphate is found as a residue in organic fruit and veg.
That is interesting. I’ll just add two things.
1 - Yes, I believe it is available in the USA. I can find no action taken. 2 - I’d be interested to discuss this a bit more .. a withdrawal from sale perhaps seems an interesting decision. but not on this thread.
Ferdinand
“Rivers know this ... we will get there in the end.”
Posts
I think you have a decent history here so you should be able to make a good estimate of where you want things - light, prevailing wind, microclimates, how you will relate the garden to the house for vistas, movement, indoor vs outdoor living etc, and how that fits with you and your family. Mine your experience.
For me the important thing is to take the time to reflect, as suggested, so you can make the garden you like. And perhaps to learn from others, to visit and pick up ideas - I love reading what I call biographies of a building, which is how something has developed to match the needs of the people who inhabit it over many years.
Whilst you may not want a big JCB to recreate the Somme, they are huge fun to play with and learn from - so why not put in at least one garden project that will let you get one in for a day or two. In the UK we even have a chain of theme parks called "Diggrland" where adult children can go to play.
Ferdinand
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
You just get a sack of copper sulphate off say Ebay and make up a saturated solution.
I use it with a Super Soaker for controlling moss on my roof.
1 - Yes, I believe it is available in the USA. I can find no action taken.
2 - I’d be interested to discuss this a bit more .. a withdrawal from sale perhaps seems an interesting decision. but not on this thread.
Ferdinand