Keeping weeds at bay.

[Rowgtfc72]

I have inherited a front garden approx 5m x 3m. Having spent the last year fighting a battle with four foot dandelions, bindweed and stickybuds it's now almost clear.
I'm left with lovely clay soil an unknown Bush in a corner, a peony in a dip and nine forty plus yr old rose trees.
The plan is to put down some of the antiweed matting and gravel on top.

I need some advice on what sort to use so the weeds stay away but the plants are still watered. Also how the hell do I put this stuff down around the established plants? Do I use sticky tape to join the edges.?

The garden was originally my dad's pride and joy so would like to do this right.
Thanks in advance!

I wouldn't put gravel down OP. I think bark chipping looks better. Also, there are people who don't like weed mat because roots of your plants you want to grow, will grow through it...and when it needs to be replaced, those roots get damaged.

Also, in my experience it often shows through and looks ugly. If you're really, really not into the idea of weeding it yourself, then get matting but put chippings down, not gravel.

When you want to lay it around established plants, you get some landscape pins which are like metal "pegs" and you use those to pin down the matting...so if you've cut a slit in the fabric to get it round a bush, you then pin the slit together.

Thanks.
The problem is I can't put a slit in the matting to put it over the plants as the rose trees are over 40 years old, quite wide and four ft tall!

From the description of the garden, landscape fabric wouldn't be suitable as you will always have bits showing through. It's best to just completely clear the weeds then mulch the whole area with well rotted bark chip or similar mulch material.
This will also improve your clay soil over the years as it will rot and get incorporated into the soil below.

I'm fretting over bindweed and dandelions too! They're impossible to get rid of, apparently. I fantasise about weedkiller.