@cardus20 You have my sympathy with your garden but I'm sure you will get it just as you want it. I had a similar problem and as I'm in my 70s I had to find easier way of doing things. For my raised beds I followed Charles Dowding 'No Dig' method. He uses the beds for vegetables but it works just as well for flowers. This is a link to his YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LH6-w57Slw
For my tiny bit of decking I used some thick membrane on the weeds and laid the decking on the top and for the lawn I just kept mowing it and eventually the weeds died leaving only the grass.
I found a fork much easier for digging rough ground and I disciplined myself to dig only 1 metre square before I had a good rest.
Best of luck.
I was just about to say exactly that. I have been learning from Charles Dowding for a while now, and have found his advice to be excellent. If I was starting again, I would be following his no dig method. Less work, better results.
Carmarthenshire (mild, wet, windy). Loam over shale, very slightly sloping, so free draining. Mildly acidic or neutral.
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