I did exactly that a few years ago only to have crabgrass start growing in the mulch--wood chips/bark from a bag. If I were going to do it, I would use gravel for a mulch rather than something organic that will break down and make a seedbed for crabgrass. I have had better luck just mulching with woodchips without the weedmatting. The weedmatting makes it harder to weed out the crabgrass because the roots get tangled into it. (weedmatting works better at suppressing weed germination under it than over it) Now I still have to weed out crabgrass (and henbit and chickweed) in the spring before throwing down another layer of chips but now it's a once a season chore instead of once a month.

Leaves that are everywhere now can be chopped up with a mower. They make a good mulch. I mowed someone's yard Sat. that was covered in leaves - first without the bag and then went over it with the bag on. I dumped the chopped leaves in my pick up. That can be piled somewhere to rot or used as a mulch. It makes good stuff. Mulch is good even without a barrier because the weeds are easier to pull out of loose dirt.

Nothing is foolproof short of a full-time gardener!

I like to use wet newspapers as a base and then mulch on top of that. Henbit is my horrific weed and it is back now as green as if it were spring. I hate that stuff!

Whatever you do with just be a help........you will still have to watch and weed!

Along the front of our house, we put landscape fabric with rock over it and planted shrubs and it's worked wonderfully, very few weeds and it's been more than 20 years. I use Round Up on the weeds a couple times a year but there isn't much to spray.

In another area, it's a different story. We put down landscape fabric with MULCH over it a few years ago and planted shrubs and perennials and it's a horrible mess. Seedlings rooted in the mulch and when I pull them, it sometimes tears the landscape fabric underneath. Weeds are harder to spray around perennials so I haven't used Round Up as much there. It all needs to be redone. I do think rock/gravel works better than mulch but have seen people on other forums complain that it's a nightmare to remove rock/gravel if weeds start coming up in it.
I agree most of the experienced gardeners recommend putting down newspapers with mulch over it. Using a pre-emergent would help too if you put it own at the right time.

Thank you all for posting your experiences. I know I kind of vanished. I have a chronic health condition that causes me problems on occasion, and I haven't felt well for a couple of months. I'm back on my project though just doing a little at a time.

I really don't mind the idea of gravel as I've seen dark stuff that'll look a lot like mulch, but it sure would be expensive as large as these beds are. I'm definitely doing the pre-emergent. I guess between all three....newspaper/weedblock, some type of mulch, and the pre-emergent I can at least cut back on my problem.

I also have spurge but at least when you pull that up you clear a 3-foot space, lol.

Sorry to hear you've had health problems. I'm sure that would make it hard to keep up with weeding and such. I have trouble keeping up and my health is just fine. I often let my weeds go and then use Round-up. I could use less if I kept up with pulling them.
What do you have planted in your border gardens?

I always do the no-dig lasagna method making a new bed, it works evn on such tough weeds as euonymous and bermuda grass. I put down a thick layer of newspapers and /or cardboard, top it off with a thick layer of mushroom compost, or other manure based compost, plus a layer of garden soil, then one of leaf compost. After it sits over the winter, I'll go around the edges with Roundup to kill any grass that comes up in a six-inch strip. Then I can plant and mulch it with wood chips or other compost of my choice. I've been doing this for years. I hate digging up beds in this rocky soil, and this method smothers weeds and grasses as well as making a nice rich soil for planting most anything I want. Any weeds that come up on top are easily pulled out.

Weed barrier is such a mess, it only provides a surface for weed seeds to germinate in and weed roots get tangled and impacted in it making them difficult if not impossible to remove. I only use it under paths and patio areas where I can spray surface weeds.

Henbit and chick weed are winter annuals, not much we can do about them other than pulling them as they get big enough, if you don't use weed killers; except for weed preventers (Miracle Gro makes one) that you put down in the fall. I don't use those as I like some wildflowers like columbine, black-eyed susans, coneflowers, species petunias and others to reseed and weed preventers also keep them from germinating.

Sandy