Hello Yahoo,
I have a gardening question which might be easy for some. I am completely new to gardening. I have an area of about 500 sq. ft in my front yard and it is currently covered with a thick layer of English Ivy and other weeds that is about 1.5 feet tall. This was probably once a flower bed. I do not plan to plant any flowers. I just want to remove the weed for aesthetic purpose. I guess no matter what method to use I need to physically remove the weeds first? What would be the best way to do that? Would a gas weed wacker do the job efficiently?
The next question is how to kill the roots of the weeds. I think the easiest one is to use weed killer spray, but there are a few trees around the area, and certainly don't want to kill the trees. So my second solution would be to use the black weed fabric to cut off the light of the weed. My question is if I have to cover it with mulch or pebbles? Can I just leave the fabric as is? If I have to, which one is better to use? I prefer mulch because it is easier to handle and cheaper, but I am really concerned about the negative outcome of weeds growing back. I live in the West Coast of Canada. Winter is mild but wet.