I don't know where you are but it sounds like it's fairly cold? If so Asarum canadense may work. Share your location for more helpful responses.

Im in New York, lower Hudson Rover Valley, zone 7.

You have a lot of options in zone 7. I've had a lot of fun with several cultivars of Saxifraga stolonifera: Nezu Jinga, Hsitou Silver and Harvest Moon, Black Mondo Grass, a whole pile of evergreen Carex with various foliage colors, Acorus Ogon, Ajuga Catlins Giant, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides is blooming heavily right now in late September, try this in spots with a bit more sun.

The saxifraga stolonifera or creeping strawberry is currently overwhelming the tiarella I carefully nurtured, so yes its a smothering groundcover. Black mondo grass spreads sooooo sloely it would be a very pricey option. The carexes ( would this include hakonechloe?) are possibilities. All of these are Asian, though.