Hi

I have a fairly shaded area of my garden which is very solid and pretty much
undiggable due to the presence of the roots of two Sycamore and two Elder
trees. It does however get really weedy. I'd like to either a) grow
something which will give nice ground cover (leaving my interminable weeding
time for other, more visible areas of the garden, or b) put some kind of
weedkiller down which will leave it clear of weeds but will not harm the
well-established trees. Can anyone advise?

There's also another area of garden nearby with much nicer soil and more
sun. I'd really like to plant something there that will cover the area which
I can intersperse with shrubs. It's south-west facing and quite exposed to
wind and cold in the winter. Any ideas? I'm fond of blues, greys and whites
btw!