Weed control is a full time job and one that you may not want to have, especially in the summer when, what you want to be doing, is sitting back relaxing and enjoying the fruits of your labour in the winter and spring. You need weed prevention membrane and some sort of decorative finish, whether stone or wood bark, depends on your budget and the look, whether formal or informal.
The type of membrane will depend on whether the ground is purely decorative or to be in a an area such as a drive or path. If the latter then you need a polypropylene fabric that doesn't tear.
Prepare the ground first buy getting rid of the biggest weeds and then raking and flattening as much as possible. It is worth putting down fertilizer or compost as you won't be able to once you have laid down the membrane. If you have already planted then you will need to cut around the plants and make sure you cover and peg down as close the the base as possible as you won't want weeds growing up through the plants (which is why I would weed first as nettles, ground elder etc will find a way to reach daylight). You can use large stones or, using a spade, pus into the ground.
Make sure you overlap the weed control membrane and peg down. Once you are happy that the area has been covered you can put the aggregate or bark down and make sure it's deep enough, recommended depth is 50-100cm. You may have to weed in the future from the top as wind blown and bird distribution of seeds will germinate
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