Part of my yard is beneath a retaining wall. There's an area of about 6-8 feet before it runs into the woods at the edge of a man-made wetland. The area is not high traffic, but tons of animals do come in and out of the woods. Grass currently grow there but I some of it appears to be dying in some areas. The area gets partial sun in the summer and more light when the leaves fall off the trees. In some of the area, it's pretty dark. Occasionally, the wetland overflows and the area is underwater for a day or two, but most of the time it is dry.

What sort of grass do you suggest? I do live out in Northern IL, so the grass will have to be some sort of winter variety. I think we get anywhere from 1.6 to 4.6 inch of average rainfall per month. I was thinking of a tall fescue variety for low mainteance and may be some sort of creeping fescue for the low light area, but was wondering if the ocassional flooding will kill the deep roots?

I am also open to ground cover like clover.

Paul