No, don't disturb the soil when you have perennial plants, because there's a danger of damaging roots. Mulching is good as others have said - one benefit is that weeds are easier to pull out of soil that remains open because of the regular addition of a mulch.

Remember weeds are merely plants that you don't want in that particular position. Don't pull up anything that you don't recognise - it's a good way to start learning plant id, and the small insignificant seedling, although it will probably turn into a dandelion, my turn into something nice. I'm being really careful about the harebells growing in my driveway, whereas one of my most troublesome weeds is being sold by our local garden centre at £4.50 a pot.

Rule of thumb for pruning - prune just after flowering unless a) you want the fruits b) just after flowering = late autumn, in which case you can safely leave pruning until Feb/Mar.

I the garden is looking good, you're doing things right. Best way of learning is to pend lots of time wandering round the garden just looking, and seeing the results of what you have done.