Chris Hogg wrote:

On Wed, 06 Apr 2016 13:52:20 +0100, Ian
wrote:

Hi,

Am not much of a gardener , but feel there must be a better way, am
looking for a grass alternative for a shared back garden. The area is damp
and the soil is subsoil pure clay, currently there are the remains of a
lawn which is loosing to sphagnum moss , looking for something that gives
ground cover, low maintenance could be played on by children

Ian
I'd agree with NM's suggestion of moss, but also add
'mind-your-own-business' aka 'baby's tears', Soleirolia soleirolii,
which is very low growing, difficult to kill off, and my late mother's
shady lawn is full of it. But a warning: if you have flowerbeds around
the edge of the lawn that you like to maintain weed-free, with bare
earth visible between the plants growing there, don't plant m-y-o-b in
the lawn, because it spreads relentlessly, even growing on bare stones
it seems, and is difficult to eradicate once established. Lots more
about it here http://tinyurl.com/j7skpm4

Sounds good, no flower beds, but may be too invasive only a railing to the
next tenement block lawn, garden is shared between 4 tenement flats , the
other 3 flats using the garden are rented by private landlords - grass
cutting can be an issue - so looking for a planting solution less work than
grass to avoid the problem