SEinCali said:I'm not sure what you meant by "I like the idea of landscaping fabric far more than the actual thing".
Re herbicide, I'm with you on using it only occasionally. I'll only use an eco-friendly one if I do- I'm redoing the yards for the very purpose of trying to live more sustainably 
As mentioned above... landscape fabric... seems like a good idea... but in practice... my experience is that they create more work than solve.
partly due to plants germinating on top of the fabric, but mostly due to Perennials coming up through the fabric... when we put the fabric on top of the live roots...
I've had pretty good luck with wall to wall carpet... I guess that outdoor carpet would work too...
Never heard of an Eco-friendly herbicide...
I'm with sallyg... keep re-applying mulch, and the plants won't be able to get ahead of you.
