Bumping because I have the same problem in Zone 7. We have a narrow lot and the north side of the house is nothing more than a 6' wide strip of dirt (weeds) with a walking path of stepping stones along the outermost edge. I have most of the exposed dirt covered with cardboard and mulch, but I would love to find something that will grow low and thickly between the stepping stones to keep out the weeds. However, I haven't found anything that seems like it will work well in more or less full shade. I'm thinking of trying Irish moss next spring just to see what happens but I'd love better suggestions.

Hard to find a low, mat-like groundcover that will tolerate full or heavy shade. The Irish moss is not a good choice as it is a) not a moss at all, and b) grows best in full sun with adequate moisture.

The following are some possibilities but none are very happy in more than just partial or light shade:

Azorella trifurcata

Arenaria balearica

Mazus reptans

Herniaria glabra

Leptinella squallida

You might just want to encourage a natural moss covering. Check out some resources on moss lawns or moss gardens.....here is one to start with.

One of my neighbors grows moss in his shady garden.

brenners moss garden

I love moss, and have a mossy stone walk in shade so I can tell you that it is treacherously slippery to walk on when wet - which is most of the time. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have very large pavers and the moss will just be kept in the cracks.

Gardengal, thank you for that list - I will research your suggestions! To give you a better idea of the sun situation in the area, we have a couple of euonymus shrubs next to the house (in addition to the path, there's a bed about 2.5' deep next to the house) that seem to be doing fine - they are full and not leggy, but they don't grow quickly at all - I don't think we've even trimmed them since we moved in two years ago. There were also some hostas in the bed, but they did TOO well - they were a variety that was much too large for the space so I had to rip them out. The neighbor has a row of boxwoods on their side of the chain link fence, but these are very scraggly and don't look happy at all. Weeds thrive, though!

Given that info, would you consider this area bright shade? If so perhaps we'll get lucky with one of your suggestions. I've also read about Corsican mint doing well in shade, so that might be a possibility?

Kitasei, luckily the path is large stepping stones with just small cracks between, so I'm not too worried about the slippery aspect. I really just want something that will not require any mowing/trimming and keep the weeds out. If there is a moss that will do that I'm all ears!