I have a small back yard, about 25 ft. by 40 ft. There is a very large oak tree at the far end of it, so it is rather shady. I had ivy covering about one third of the yard, at the end, and the rest was patchy grass, but I was completely fine with that.

My tenant removed every scrap of ivy, so that now the yard is mostly bare dirt. I am gutted and have literally been crying. I don't know what to do. I called a landscaper and he said he can put in ivy plugs, but until they grow in I will have to be constantly weeding around them. I can't do that because I have chronic fatigue, and gardening and yard work don't interest me in any case.

The only thing I can think of to do is put down sod over most of the yard, and plant ivy around the base of the tree where grass won't grow, but I truly hate grass. The last thing I wanted was to put down a large swath of grass, which I will have to mow and which might need chemical fertilizers and weed killers, which I am not willing to use.

Any ideas?