You know, that's a really compact clump of yucca- instead of fighting it, why not use it along with the cedar and other shrub as winter backbone? They do have nice fragrant white blooms in summer. If it were spread out or a huge clump, i'd fuss with it, but if you're wanting to make life simple... leave it be. I'd say it depends on the compost whether you till it in. If it seems like it has a good bit of earthy stuff for the plants to dig into, then no, but if it's more top dressing stuff, perhaps till in half and top with compost. The quality can vary year to year and by the time of year, depending on what they are shredding and composting. If you're in wake co, you will need to find a truck/hauler to haul it for you, but the compost itself is fairly cheap- like 30 a big truckload full. City runs 2 for 1 specials sometimes, too. Meaning pay for 1 load, get the second free that same day- but you'd still need to pay for hauling. You could do a lasagna type bed- layer on newspaper, ect, and build up with out messing with tilling at all. There's been a good bit posted about it, and there are at least 2 books. It really does work if you have a little patience/time. There is a thread for the swap on the exchanges forum. It should have the where what when info- tho i can tell you quickly it's may 8th, at white deer park in garner. Doesn't matter if you're a newb. We always have some. Just bring some good food and anything you have to spare that you think gardeners could use- pots, hoses, rocks, etc. Even shallow boxes would be appreciated as folks always need them to haul away their new found goodies.

laura, regular green dichondra is hardy here- and last i looked, park's sold seed. people in california use it as a lawn substitute. i have a good bit volunteer in my yard & beds, and just leave it. it is hardy, but does lose some of the foliage in winter. and it can't be stepped on much. i tried transplanting to paths and it died out quickly. blue star creeper would work nicely, too, though i think it's happier with a bit of shade. i think creeping jenny can take a good deal of sun as long as it has moisture. so it's great for ditches and that sort of thing. that's where i grow mine. it can take being submerged and reasonable dry spells both. also, you could consider some mints in your sun so long as they had some moisture. problem might be that they take over! if it's a dry area, what about creeping lemon thyme or lime or caraway? many of the thymes stay low and a varied patch would look great. i can't believe i'm mentioning this because it's quite invasive- but it is great for groundcover in dry full sun. if you have an area it can't cross it would work wonderfully. it's oenethera- aka cape primrose or sundrops. comes in pink, white, and i think yellow. you want one of the types that stay low and bloom all summer in 4 petalled california poppy like flowers- some get tall and are biennual. don't even consider planting it if you don't have a barrier or you'll regret it. it comes back from every tiny rootlet left. i just dug the last (hopefully) of mine out of a bed and plan to have it in a trough or low pot. i love their look, just not the rambunctiousness.

That is horseherb! I love it in my hot and shady areas. It survives with little water and thrives when it gets some! I love Leadwort, aka hardy plumbago for shady areas. It's not terribly invasive and the cobalt blue flowers all summer and purple-reddish foliage in cool weather are a bright spot of color!

The requirements you've outlined are pretty daunting. Few plants will tolerate submersion in water for any length of time, full shade eliminates many possbilities, and withstanding foot traffic complicates matters even more. So.. How about a stone or masonry path to deal with the foot traffic issue? What grows there now? This could be a helpful indication. Creeping jenny might work and so might sweet woodruff, but you would need a huge number of plants to fill an area this size. Moss would be a good choice if you can find a source of sods. Perhaps there's somewhere they could be collected with the land owner's permission. Moss is a terific germination bed for weeds of all types, it's hard to rake leaves up without causing damage, so it's not a low maintanence solution. If nothing at all grows here now indicating near impossible conditions for plants, I think I'd opt for a stone/masonry path surrounded by gravel mulch (bark would float away). You could certainly plant ferns and other shade tolerant plants here and there. Any shade tolerant plants which grow in flood plains should be suitable.