Ground cover for large area

Thanks already to those that have seen my first posts!!

Another question-I have a large area in the back of my yard, where all the tress are that is just a mess right now-there are however a few nice established big plants - I'm figuring I may have to transplant the daffodils and Iris I have there....BUT--the rest is a weed mess-Poison ivy-oak, and tons of leaves.

I have a guy that will be workign on my leave piles and using his weed eater for all the weeds....it's fairly large-I'm guessing maybe 8 or 10 feet depth by maybe 30/40 wide?

I plan to go out and try to round up as many poison oak/ivy as I can....before he comes out w/the weed eater but don't know if I'll get them all...once I have a clean canvas back there-I've got to put something...can't do grass-too shady...can't do pine leaves I have thousands of leaves each year to rally up and a leaf blower will just get rid of my pine straw....so the other option i'm thinking of is a hardy fast growing ground cover....maybe w/flowers, maybe not- how much time will it take to grow ? Will it be before the fall ? I'm thinkign of how it will go when I start w/the leaf blowing process. Also...how are these things done w/runners? Am I better off hiring some guys to plant these....is seed less expensive? if so how long would it take to establish?

I'm thinking I may not be able to plant it this year-since we'll probably have to do the weed killing at least 2-3 times to get it established and stop growing back as strong....and then maybe planting ground cover next year say in mid-March? By the time we finish cleaning it up it will be June already...

Also need a fast growing one that will spread-am I looking at a fortune to start since it's such large area? Am I better off w/say dwarf mondo or something then vinca...or the mexican petunia thingy? I don't like the english ivy option really.

I agree with you that you'd be better waiting until next year to plant anything. It will be getting too hot to start new plants down here now and you'll end up being a prisoner to watering them. Poison ivy can be tough to kill and it may very well take more than one application of Round Up to complete the job. It would be a mess for you to get your plants in only to find that there's more poison ivy popping up in the middle of them. As for ground cover, try looking around at the Stepables.com site--they have lots of tough plants. Some do spread fast and can even be walked on. Good luck--I hope you end up with a beautiful yard :-}

Just a thought, Blue rug juniper is very hardy. I believe it can take dappled sun light as through a tree canopy. It is very good at choking out weeds and will spread easily. Check with HD and Lowes. Get them to give you a deal if you buy a pallet worth. Easy to plant with a one or two man auger. You should not have to water too much as the area will be shaded by the bigger trees. Anyone can correct me if I am wrong on this info. Plus you can create flower areas and just keep the junipers trimmed back.