Hi David in Normandy,

Living in Normandy sounds nice, have toyed with the idea of Brittany but not sure whether I could afford it.

Something that has worked for me has been using a cover sheet to prevent any weeds underneath getting any light and having the plants you want coming through this. Obviously if you can get tree bark mulch to put down it looks better and if the weeds do get through they are easy to spot. I would then spray off or pull out any weeds that come through and then just keep on top of it.

Bizarrely this idea comes from the city where when I was working in the facilities department we would get contractors in to manage the flowerbeds and flower fronts. The bed was initially planted through a permeable sheet placed over the soil, this was then covered over with bark to keep the light away from the weeds and provide moisture for the rest of the plants (this was low maintenance) if anything did break through the layers the contractors either sprayed it of or just pulled the weed out by the roots.

The following article raises some good points on getting a balance of work and enjoyement

Try to Get a Balance With Jobs and Pleasure

Hope this is of some use.