Ask-a-Dave's-Gardener: Landscape with weeds, 1 by Arch_garden

Arch_garden wrote:
I just moved to a new place and I still haven't got the chance to tend to the garden. there is a landscaped area with some flowering plants on the perimeter. On the inside of the rectangle stone area, my guess is the weeds have taken over. I need help with clearing this off and keeping this area weed-free. I am beginner and not sure where to start. My questions:
1. Should I just dig and uproot all the weeds? or should I use a spray or something to kill the weeds?
2. after de-weeding I would like to plant some flowering perennials. I welcome all the gardeners to suggest what might be a good choice of plants to plant for this year or next? I live in Minnesota.

Thanks for the suggestions.