Well, this is more of a maintenance question than a design question, I think. What do you want to do with the area?

The plant in question is a weed, looks like Common Vetch.

Your photo illustrates what can happen to areas where gravel is used as mulch if not kept weeded. It is now harder to clean up than if an organic mulch was used.

If you just want to get rid of the eyesore, remove any plants that are "keepers" and plant them elsewhere. Pull the rest out, remove as much of the gravel as you can (have fun) and plant grass. If you want to keep the area as a planting, first do the above, and start with shrubs to hide the chain link fence and provide a backdrop for a few perennials.

Unfortunately, maintaining a garden is not a "do it once and forget about it" situation. It is an ongoing routine that should be done with a certain amount of regularity, however there are ways you can reduce the amount of time and effort you must expend.

A thorough clean-out is in order. Saypoint has outlined the process involved and there really isn't any shortcut to this other than applying a herbicide to kill off the existing vegetation. Not everybody's choice but an option. Once the area is totally free of weeds, I'd suggest planting a soil hugging groundcover rather than lawn, perennials or shrubs. Slopes are not well-suited to growing a lawn and it would be a nightmare to mow. Groundcovers will expand to cover the soil surface and retain the soil on the slope and are more effective than more upright perennials or shrubs in reducing weed development (less soil area exposed). And many are very attractive plants in their own right, offering flowers or sometimes berries and there are many evergreen choices as well. If you want something with more of an impact, daylilies can be used as an effective groundcover, spreading rapidly and are pretty low maintenance as perennials go. But not evergreen, so some sort of winter maintenance - like mulching - is in order.

And I agree that removing the gravel is advised. Despite whatever type of mulch you apply, weeds will find their way in and removing weeds established in a gravel mulch is just too much work. If you don't want to plant anything (and that's a viable option as well) a mulch of wood chips or coarse bark will be more effective as weed control and far easier to maintain. But you WILL need to continue to address this issue periodically or it will return to its present, weedy condition. And to eliminate another maintenance issue, keep a lawn-free edge along the garden side of the chainlink. This may be an appropriate spot for that shrub border or mixed perennial planting if you choose to go to that much effort. But allowing turf grasses to grow immediately up and into a chainlink fence is just another ongoing maintenance headache than can be very easily eliminated.

I would like the area to look neat and clean. The rocks were already there when we bought this place several years ago. I just haven't had the time or motavation to do anything with it. What would be the cheapest mulch to use, as we are on a very limited income.

Since you already have them, the rocks/gravel could be the cheapest, although you might need to add to the existing amount. In many areas, local tree triming outfits (those that have the contract for powerline right of ways, etc) will often dump their chipped product for you for free - won't hurt to inquire. Rock can make an effective mulch but you need to have the understanding that keeping it weed-free will require repeated efforts on your part.

If you're REALLY strapped, choose a groundcover, plant one area, and let it grow. Next year, take a part of each spreading clump, and plant a new area.

I have areas of woolly thyme which I have divided a few times to nearly cover a whole section. That may not be the right G.C. for you on that slope, but it's working for me and the weeds are few and easy to pull.

What is that ferny green stuff with lavender flowers? Maybe that would work, but I don't know what it is. Find out from here or your local nursery or a neighbor who has a nice looking ground cover what would be good in your situation (zone, light, etc.).

As gardengal said..."this is not a do it once and forget it" situation. The closest to a 'do nothing' approach would be to spray the slopes with Round-up, remove all the plant material when it dies and leave the entire rock mulch in place with nothing growing on it. Several times during the growing season you would have to spot spray with Round-up any weed growth that popped up. A bare look but it is a cheap solution needing minimal attention. The only one that I can think of at the moment. It appears that the fence does receive some shade. Consider planting two climbing hydrangeas on the house side of the fence. They should be available at you local box store nurseries and would grow happily on the fence requiring no care, softening the stark look.

Get rid of the Vetch (ferny stuff with lavender flowers) as, I think, it's basically a cover or fodder crop for a ruminant animal or two. Bumblebees seem to like it as well. Decent stand of iris and what looks to be a number of daylilies against the fence - all worth preserving; digging out, cleaning up, maybe dividing and respacing along the fence. That gives you a couple of types of background plants to work with. Anything else in there that looks like it may be a survivor from an earlier garden (the stuff on the left below the iris) - take a photo and post it on the "Name that Plant" Forum. A real clean up will go a long way; only expense is some sweat equity. And if you like it clean, there's no law that says you have to plant it up again.

A weed is a plant in the wrong place. If you like the crown vetch, you could divide it and plant it in the area with the gravel, it is a pretty weed none the less and it is keeping other weeds at bay in the area it is in. And for the other side you could kill all the weeds there now and do a wildflower or meadow garden there, all you would have to do is mow it or weed whack once or twice a year.

Brat

Crown Vetch is a ground cover used by many State road departments to cover steep slopes where they cannot mow. It is also used to reclaim strip mine land because it is a legume and is good for the soil. And once it is established nothing penetrates it. And it is almost impossible to get rid off. But it would cover all the gravel once you yanked all the other weeds.

You gotta weed once a week just like you sweep the house once a week. Or at least like my mother taught me to sweep once a week, but I'd much rather be weeding.

I'd go berserk if you were my neighbor and were encouraging plantings of crown vetch. The stuff, while useful for highway departments on steep slopes, should NEVER be sold to civilians. It's nearly impossible to get rid of and is wildly invasive, spreading by roots and seeds. There's some down the road from me, and I live in terror that a patch will take hold in my gardens. (One did several years ago and it took repeated applications of industrial strength round-up over three years before this tiny patch was eliminated.)

You must get rid of the crown vetch completely or it will simply overrun everything else. When you're sure it's gone and the whole area is clean of weeds, consider plantings of various ground cover sedums. They're easy care and they'll take hold in gravel, though you will have to weed while they're establishing and occasionally afterwards.

I guess I am going to spray the area with some bush be gone to get rid of some poison ivy in there, I am reading online that bush be gone is good to get rid of the poison.

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I am going to try and keep the daylilies there and spread them out along the top. Get rid of the mint, cause the poison ivy is mixed in with it. There are some black eyed susan's in there, I like those so I am going to keep them, maybe add some more, cause I like them.

How long do I wait to plant some ground cover after spraying for the poison ivy?

I would like some ground cover that has some little flowers on it, what would be a good one?

The sedum is a good choice of ground cover for you--at this time of year it gets small flowers--pretty insignificant as flowers go, but blooms nonetheless. It is also easy to plant and move, easy to weed.

Read the directions on the bottle of plant killer to see how long you need to wait before planting--in fact, before you purchase one, it would be good to read the directions anyway--it may influence your choice of what to purchase, as well have having safety directions.