Beginner Gardening: Learning to like a once loved garden - weeding advice needed!! , 1 by KayAnn555

KayAnn555 wrote:
Spent three days clearing the extensive front garden of our rented home and uncovered what was once a very well thought out and loved garden. However, the previous owner gravelled a large portion each side of the path straight on top of soil. We now have grass, weeds and (I think) bluebells about to sprout.... Lots of it!!! What can I do? Any weed killer would need to be pet friendly - salt, vinegar and boiling water seem to be the suggestion online but think that's aimed at small pathway problems and this is a big area. Also, once the weeds have been attacked, what's the best way of clearing the debris and making the gravel look nice again? This is a rented house so I wouldn't want to invest too much money in a solution but I would like to tidy things up and enjoy the space we have. Landlord has helped with big jobs such as removing ivy and topping trees but general upkeep is down to us. Very time and cash poor with zero gardening know-how....... Help!!! :-) pictures included.