I have a
mature maple on my parkway. This thing produces the densest shade possible. The
grass has gradually died to the point where it is mostly bare dirt. I’d like to
get rid of what little grass there is and put in a groundcover, but what? I don’t like pachysandra or vinca.

The area
is about 6 feet wide and 15-20 feet long.

I was
thinking about english ivy; I’ve seen it on the “ivy lawns” in Missouri and
Kentucky, but I don’t know how well it work in Zone 5 (Chicago). In my zone
will it fill in? I thought of ivy and gradually dotting it with cheap hostas
and other shade plants as I find them on sale.

Caveats:

This is not an easy area to water. I could get
it started, but it would not get much watering attention down the road.

It is the
parkway, people would undoubtedly let their dogs poop and pee there, unless
they are nice enough to direct the animal to the grass.

This is
a lot to cover, so cost is a factor too.