Cheers and thanks again for your assistance. Advice duly noted re leaving the border exposed for a period prior to applying mulch and new membrane. Re the new membrane I presume ok to cover it with stone?
The stones will give your border a better look than exposed membrane and will still allow water to penetrate. They will also help to keep the membrane in place. Being light in colour they will have a small effect on reflecting the summer sun and keeping your plants' roots a bit cooler, thus helping with water retention. If you decide you don't mind seeing the membrane, you'll save yourself a bit of work - the benefits of the stones are really aesthetic more than anything else.
If it was mine - I wouldn't use the gravel. Organic matter is far better and will help improve the soil too. Finer bark would be ideal. Make sure the ground is well soaked first.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Great, remember that as you are adding organic matter to the soil beneath the membrane to improve it, you may want to refresh this again next year. Removing the stones to do this, as well as turning back the membrane, may be a chore worth avoiding!
I was doing a bit of googling there re local suppliers who can deliver in bulk. In terms of products they offer they do not offer 'mulch' per se, however they can provide garden compost or wood chippings.
What are your thoughts re best soloution e.g. garden compost under the geotextile with wood chippings on top?
Garden compost will provide the organic matter you need - I've just spread 750 litres of this on to the main borders in my garden, purchased from a local supplier.
Placing wood chippings on top of the membrane will have mainly aesthetic benefits - they won't degrade quickly because of the membrane beneath. If your site is exposed, they can also blow about in the wind and be disturbed by birds!
One other consideration is to not use any membrane at all, just a thick layer of compost. I didn't suggest this earlier as the potential for weeds and ingress of the surrounding grass into your border looks quite high on your site.
Personally, I use only compost as a mulch, without any membrane, and am prepared to remove the odd weed but you have a much larger area to control.
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Gary
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I was doing a bit of googling there re local suppliers who can deliver in bulk. In terms of products they offer they do not offer 'mulch' per se, however they can provide garden compost or wood chippings.
What are your thoughts re best soloution e.g. garden compost under the geotextile with wood chippings on top?
As always thanks again.
Placing wood chippings on top of the membrane will have mainly aesthetic benefits - they won't degrade quickly because of the membrane beneath. If your site is exposed, they can also blow about in the wind and be disturbed by birds!
One other consideration is to not use any membrane at all, just a thick layer of compost. I didn't suggest this earlier as the potential for weeds and ingress of the surrounding grass into your border looks quite high on your site.
Personally, I use only compost as a mulch, without any membrane, and am prepared to remove the odd weed but you have a much larger area to control.
Spoke to a compost supplier today, he advised he can supply either green waste compost or peat compost.
Any thought re what is best / most suitable?
I explained my circumstances to the supplier and his own recommendation was green waste compost.
Cheers
G
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.