Weed Cleanup, Post-Vacation

I came home from more than a week on vacation, and the weeds around my garden (and a few in the garden) were going a little crazy. I may rethink my garden layout next year - maybe taking a few tips from the Square Foot Gardening method (whose book I just purchased) - and hopefully minimize weeds.

Most of the weeds and cleanup in the picture below are NOT from the garden itself, but from around the garden. My garden is in the back of my yard (I inherited it that way when we bought this house) and there is probably a foot of space between it and the fence behind it. There's also space between it on the fence between our yard and the neighbor's. As a result, weeds sprout up in the cracks, and climb the fence.

I have a theory that the vast amount of foliage is attracting pests that I don't want around. So I did a major cleanup, and plan to think about how I can better manage the out-of-control weeds that are hanging out around my garden. My veggies need their space!