DECKING - MORE GARDENING!

Two people asked me about top end of the market garden decking this week. I don't actually do gardens but I asked a man who does. Adam at http://www.bls1.co.uk/ gave me the bottom line.
1. Hardwood v. softwood: hardwood seems to be an allround winner, with the only possible exception of Cedar (which Adam says looks better in rustic/country environments).
2. Grooved v. flat: although the arguement originally was that grooves allow better drainage of rain water, Adam's take is that the grooves reduce the amount of foot grip and may therefore be more slippery; grooves also tend to collect dirt making it harder to clean the deck.
3. Types of hardwood: it's no conincidence that teak is mostly used on boats. Iroko and Greenheart were also mentioned. Clearly, the higher the content of oil the more durable the wood when exposed to the elements.
4. Reccomendations: great preparation prior to laying the deck will ensure lack of movement and absence of weed re-growth.

N.B. This is all fairly expensive stuff. At the opposite end of the spectrum are the trated softwoods and, somewhere in the middle, Ipe, Massaranduba, etc.