XFce4 vs GNOME Desktop

["S. Fishpaste" <SDA@Deer-in-the-headlights.ca.invalid>]

Hi All;

I have a strange issue. When I run Gnome I have a nice desktop with my trash
icon etc., on the desktop. Gnome is too heavy for my resource limited laptop
so I much prefer to use a lighter window manager.

But when I start up or switch to XFce4, I'm left without a "desktop", just
the application dock on a coloured background, which I can't seem to change.

How do I get XFce to start-up with the desktop showing when the user logs in?
The XFce settings panel has a configuration option, however when I use a
desktop picture or change icons nothing shows. I'm thinking that XFce isn't
starting up in the right directory, but I'm at a loss on how to change that.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.