I thought to offer you a few gardening tips that I've learned over the years. I'm not sure they are anything amazing, but they've certainly helped me.
1. Vinegar works beautifully to kill weeds! It is not filled with the toxic chemicals of other weed-killers, is easy to use and very inexpensive. Just use a one-to-one ratio with water on a dry day, when the forecast looks good for the next twenty-four hours. Easy peasy!
2. Ground cover is a wonderful way to cut down on weeds. I have a ground cover in my garden, quite by accident--a cutting from my sister's phlox, a bit of ground cover tangled in the roots--you know how it goes. Anyway, I had to be away from my home for three or so months in the springtime, right when it's so necessary to be out there in the garden weeding, not to mention controlling this ground cover. I came home, dreading to see what had become of my garden, and to my happy surprise, it was lovely! Yes, there were weeds, but they weren't out of control. It ended up having a lush, country feel, a green jubilance, with foxglove poking up here and there, roses dripping petals, salvia standing strong amongst the confusion.
1/2. This is only a half a hack because I haven't tried it out for myself for more than a week. It's more of a hearsay hack. We have a lot of deer in our neighborhood, and they love to nibble on the roses and other tender perennials. A neighbor told me to set out dryer sheets, about three for an eighteen to twenty foot garden. Affix them to a fence, garden art, or whatever you can rig up. Supposedly, the deer detest the smell and won't come near. It has worked beautifully for my neighbor! You just need to change them out every three to six months. Brilliant! I'll keep you posted on how that goes in my garden. I'm hopeful!
Happy Gardening!