Gardening without weed killer - am I wasting my time?

[TyrionsNextWife]

I have a large garden that was overrun with ivy and brambles, I’ve spent months clearing them and I’m making good progress. The problem is, everywhere’s now being taken over by things like ground elder and dandelions. I’ve been clearing them by hand but I don’t really think I’m getting anywhere and there’s a lot of ground to cover!
I’m wary of using weed killer for a couple of reasons - firstly there’s loads of beautiful plants dotted around that I don’t want to damage, and more importantly my gardens full of bees and other wildlife that I don’t want to kill or scare away.
I don’t care about perfect flower beds and manicured lawns (it’s very much a country cottage type garden) but I do want to keep the weed so under control.
Any ‘natural’ suggestions or do I just have a choice between weeds or roundup?

I pull up brambles in the winter when they aren't growing, thick gloves needed, but you can usually get quite a long strand with its offshoots and roots. Bindweed is much easier to get up if you put down a layer of bark. The roots thread through the bark instead of breaking off. Quite satisfying.
Ivy in trees, cut stems of ivy at the base of the trunk and pull put down ivy after several months when it is dead and brittle. But leave some ivy for birds to nest in also it is v late to flower so provides for the bees when there is nothing else available. Though I'm not sure if that is all types of ivy.
I do weedkill dandelions in the lawn - my rule is do it early spring and NEVER let them seed.
There will be tons if seeds in the soil OP so you have to spend a few years getting on top of them.

Why use weedkiller? There's all sorts of side effects from even the ones that they used to say were ok.

Notice they don't say that any more apart from the manufacturers of course, you could use boiling water instead. Or just keep mowing. Better than harming the insect/bird populations and even you and your families' health.

Curly With this weather EVERYTHING is sprouting madly in my garden, it is spring after all.ppeatfruit

I think you underestimate my lonicera japonica. Have you read or watched the Day of the Triffids? I mean you can almost SEE it growing. It’s properly sinister!

Bind weed is one of the few weeds I treat with a systematic weed killer.
I allow it to grow then gather it into an old plastic bag and give the inside of the bag a good spray then tie up the bag with the sprayed bind weed inside. I put an old brick on the bag to stop it blowing about and leave for around 2 weeks. After the 2 weeks you can. Retreat if needed but most often you can already see the bind weed beginning to brown and swivel.

I have a pretty tiny pale pink version of bindweed that's no problem, after all there's a purple version that grows wild in Spain, I would LOVE in my garden. It's just a matter of changing one's mindset.

I remember someone of Gardener's Question Time saying that we domestic gardeners can save the wildlife because ,unlike farmers, we don't kill everything that moves and some that don't with nasty chemicals. I thought at the time well you're being optimistic. He was underestimating the power of advertising