I'd put down a layer of cardboard and newspaper and mulch over it, with or without paver stepping stones. The cardboard will eventually break down, and you will have to do some weeding in the area, but with a thick layer of mulch they should be easy to pull. You can also sprinkle a bit of corn gluten meal or crabgrass preventer to keep weed seeds from sprouting. Once it's weed free, it's not too hard to stay on top of it with a weekly walk through.

A squirt of roundup or blast from the flame thrower weeder can take care of any persistent weed plants.

By mulch, I think saypoint specifically means bark or another organic material (seaweed, shredded leaves).

If you have room to make the azalea bed a little wider, you can stagger the plants, with taller varieties towards the house and shorter ones between them towards the front. This will enable you to include kinds that flower at different times of year.

The actual crowns of the plants should probably be at least 5 feet from the foundation, for a plant that will get to be 4' wide.

One last thing - what's the sun exposure here? Is it partial shade, I hope? That's what azaleas like best, especially in hot areas like GA.

Yes, it's partial shade. I believe that's the south side of the house, and we have wide overhangs on the roof, plus a yard full of pine trees. I don't know that it gets any direct light at all, but it gets a good six hours of bright indirect light every day. The camellias seem to like it, so I'm hoping the azaleas will, too.

That's a brilliant idea about staggering the plants. Thank you both for the suggestions, and tips on distances to plant.

Choose the variety of azalea carefully with regard to size. The great old Southern Indicas are beautiful but get very big--they look great in the right setting, but are the type that overgrow most foundation plantings and crowd windows, so unless you are allowing lots of room for them, choose a smaller variety. Also other varieties will be hardier in zone 7.