Beginner Gardening: Helllllp....Pleeeeeeze, 1 by starbird

starbird wrote:
OK here's the problem. I have been put in charge of an ashram garden. I know zip about gardening but I'm learning fast.

We have two old redwoods in the corner of our yard and another on the other side of the fence in the neighbor's yard. We have a second story on the house. The backyard gets very late afternoon sun for a few hours and it only hits the back of the house.

I planted ferns under the redwoods, but they aren't looking too happy and the maidenhairs (my all time favorite fern) are shriveling up and turning brown. I suspect a lack of water. What we have discovered is that a few hours after watering the ground is bone dry down several inches. Not directly under the redwoods, but everywhere else in the front and back yard. No, it's not terribly hot, it's Culver City and mostly the climate is mild. Zone 10.

Thank you,
bonnie

My most immediate need is to know what, if anything can be grown as a ground cover in the backyard, that can also be walked on? I am aware that most things require sun, but we only have a bit of it on the ground on one side when it hits the house. Someone mentioned mosses, but via my research, I can't find one that appreciates being walked on. Fescue isn't working. I read about Thyme, but it doesn't look like it should be walked on.

Here is my drawing, not perfectly to size but close.