I live in a 1910 six flat condo building in Chicago. Every spring/summer we struggle greatly with our postage stamp grass backyard. We cut it in half to put in bark chips for a play structure, but the other half we really would like a nice groundcover. We have grass, but it is sparse and basically dirt come every spring. There are three huge 100 year old trees in the small yard, so by june there is no sun whatsoever.

What can we try that will grow in the shade? Also, it gets a LOT of foot traffic - there are 2 dogs in the building and 7 children. It's our only outdoor space.

Please help!

Thanks, Hilary