Weed infested borders! Help please...

[JustBeingJobless]

My garden is very neglected as I've got degenerative disc disease and struggle to bend to do the weeding etc. We went away for a week at Easter and came back to an invasion! Having googled, I think it's been overtaken by Aquilegia, at least that what it looks like (quite dense green leaves with purple flowers, grows very fast in circular clumps?).

My garden is mainly paved, with a gravelled area and then borders on which the top half of the garden has shrubs planted, so that's not too bad, but the bottom half of the borders, nearest the house, plus the gravel (and in the cracks between the paving and the house walls) is absolutely overrun with the stuff and I don't know where to start!

I'm not green fingered at all, and would like a solution that will stay weed free, as I'm not about to get better any time soon and be able to do it regularly. Am I able to strim it down, weedkill then cover with membrane/polythene/carpet and wait for it to die? What's the best thing to cover the borders with to stop weeds occurring again? I'm on a very low budget so needs to be cheap and easy!

I just want to be able to enjoy my garden again!

Aquilegia are quite pretty, and actually quite easy to pull out if you don't like it imo. I've never had a problem with it being that invasive.

Are you sure it's aquilegia?

Nope not sure at all!! I can just about identify a daffodil, that's the extent of my gardening knowledge, but I googled weeds with purple flowers and that's what came up.

It looks like this and it's literally taken over!!

I'd be really happy if my borders were overtaken with this.

It's not just the borders though, it's took root in the gravel, in the cracks near the house etc. It's taken over!

But you are weed free.

It's a proper plant with an official name and all that. Embrace it.

I guess that's one way of looking at it

That's a lovely plant.
My garden is swamped with forget-me-nots. I like it.

What you can do it cut the flowers and use in the house. That way it won't self seed and you will enjoy cut flowers in the house.

So Isco the best thing to try and control it as opposed to killing it? I guess while that's there no other weeks are going to come through.

Weeks? Weeds ffs

Absolutely no other -weeds--plants.
You're safe.

Aquilegia is lovely! Praise the Lord it's not dandelions and admire it with your feet up.

I've found this in my garden today too. It was growing underneath a very neglected spreading low conifer. Both the conifer and the aquilegia have been dug up, as I'm prepping a bed for planting, but I was very surprised on how strong and dense the roots of the aquilegia were.

Just bought two aquilegia today and I'm hoping they self seed! 😁

Oh you lucky thing! (Although not about the damage it's caused.) I love aquilegia so much! So many different varieties & self sowing too... it's my absolute favourite plant.