How to mulch herbaceous perennials

Yeah that makes sense. I guess only thing is if you dedicate sections of border to herbaceous perennials or annuals then you can't put ground cover plants in I assume. Therefore they go in containers instead I suppose as I think you mentioned

 

That's why it's always about what you want to grow, and how much time you have to maintain it. No garden is zero maintenance, but you can make them lower maintenance.
When I was working full time. my garden had to be easy to maintain, so it was shrub/tree based, and most of the extra colour came from bulbs, very reliable perennials, or annuals - usually in pots. When I retired, I realised just how low maintenace that was.
If you have open areas of bare ground, you have to accept that you'll need to weed more often. I still have as little bare ground as possible, mainly because of the amount of cats round here.

 

Thanks again for your insight, food for thought.