I am tired of mowing the weeds in the back part of my yard. I'd like to plant the area in something shade tolerant that does not have to be replanted every year and grows to a height of less than 4" (ideally). Something that is invasive enough that I don't have to remove the weeds first, just chop them off with the mower. Any suggestions for a ground cover? Seed growing zone 9.

I was wondering if it would help to keep the weeds at bay till the ground cover got a start if I spread a thin layer of mulch after scattering the seeds

 

Did you eve look into Pachysandra ? Not sure what zones it'll grow in but it's great here in NJ.
Grows a little higher than 4" but is hardy, comes back every year and grows in the shade.

 

Kudzu. JK. How about Vinca Minor?

 

Don't think the neighbors would appreciate kudzu. The others sound promising though. Thank you for the replies. Pachysandra looks nice and if I run a landscape timber border it will look like a large flower bed so height wouldn't be that bad.. Others I'll have to look up.

 

It requires minimum care. You can just pluck some out of the ground and drop it in dirt and it will grow. My neighbors pull hand fulls and then have it at their place.

It does grow uncontrolled. It will overgrow your bed. It will have to be trimmed.

 

Sometimes I just need the shake my head vigorously to get the rust out. Thanks PJ for helping with that. I do have some volunteer ground cover elsewhere. I don't know what kind it is but I just may try transplanting some of it there. Thanks for the idea. Maybe some Miracle Grow with each plant.

 

Creeping thyme if you have enough sun in the a.m. Is your shade in the p.m. ?

 

I re read your post about not totally removing weeds. Thyme probably won't work. How about Ajuga reptens? You could mow weeds over the top after it is established. Do you have water available in this area?

 

Actually after posting I decided to kill the weeds with black plastic for a month then remove before planting. While searching some of the suggestions here I discovered Irish moss and have pretty much decided on that because the company includes a shaker bottle with all the nutrients.You just mix the seeds into the shaker bottle and shake it on the surface of the ground. Easy and most importantly cheap. Some suggestions came only as rootings and thus out of my budget. Other came as seeds but first had to be started in flats.

Anybody see a problem with using black plastic to kill the weed then removing before planting?