The purpose of the tilling was really to pull up some roots and get to what's underneath. The top is all hard and cracked. We got a ton of roots up and pulled out a lot of weeds. We'll be adding a bunch of new dirt and levelling. I've no doubt that will be a long process, but that's ok. This particular stretch does have full sun. It does have a small crepe myrtle, but that doesn't shade it much. This side faces the south, and being on the corner gets morning, afternoon and evening sun, only a tiny bit of it gets filtered by the crepe myrtle. My only worry is that it'll end up with a greenhouse effect and grow even better under the plastic..... That side has some bermuda already (and we left some areas. Plans for that stretch (which is actually bigger than I said - 37x17, I finally measured it today) are not settled yet. It'll have some bermuda in the center, but we're going to semi-xeriscape. I say 'semi' because we do want some grass, but we'd like to minimize water requirements. I'm going to put a border in around the perimeter, though I haven't decided which plants to put in. The border will be ~2 ft in (a little more around the wrap-around porch to incorporate some bushes already there. Along the fence line I'm still debating. We have an ugly chain link fence which we hate, but aren't planning to remove it any time soon. There's bermuda outside the fence in the front (no sidewalk there), but I was thinking of putting in some ivy-type ground covering (sorry, still learning all the names) which will creep over the ugly fence. On the inside we'll have the mulch with some drought-tolerant plants. There's an ivy-type plant growing elsewhere along the fence, but it's pretty messy and strangles the cedar elm, so I'm not sure I want to keep that. The whole property is 1/4 acre, so we have a fair amount of yard to deal with. As we're still in the midst of interior restorations, the outside is a slow process. It's mainly getting attention now because it's one of the few things I can do with my little one (compared to painting, sanding, hanging sheetrock....)

Image is too small. However you can apply a per-emergent herbicide such as XL or Amaze mid-Feb., mid-May and mid- September to prevent them germinating in the first place. Here is a link that might be useful: XL

Getting rid of unwanted plants while small and easy to handle is the key to maintaining control in a garden. If you didn't plant it, the odds are 99%+ you don't want it. When mowing, aim the chute away from beds to prevent throwing seeds into them. If it won't pull up easily, patches like this (solid area of unwanted plant growth) can be smothered.

Look up "May beetle" AKA "June beetle" and see it it matches the brown one. (A lot of things go by that name.) They can be really common for periods and there is no reason to get rid of them if they aren't doing visible damage to your yard. Don't get rid of an animal just because it is THERE. Only get rid of it if it's a problem. Was "a couple inches or less" a typo?