I'm a nurseryman and i can highly recommend Mypex (just google it) ground cover sheeting. I've had some down for over 20 years and it is open to the air and walked on every day and is as good as the day it was fitted. It is a tightly woven UV stabilised sheet which allows water through but not light or weeds.

To use in a front garden you'd need to cover it with a thin layer of bark or gravel

Or do some light weeding every few weeks until the conifers take so much moisture out of the soil that very little will grow! Worthy