What do you intend to use this area for? Why not use wood chips or bark mulch?

You might try permeable pavers, Clethra & red twig dogwood will thrive in the wet conditions.

Many ground covers would grow there, but without knowing your zone, it's impossible to make suggestions.

the pics above are beautiful but rocks/gravel/pavers/flagstones etc require constant maintenance to stay picture perfect..I was thinking groundcover just like laceyvail..my wooded neighborhood is full of shady spots without grass and where groundcover is growing it's much more attractive than areas covered with rocks..

I disagree. I’ve had almost the exact same setups as my first and second pics (for 15+ yrs), and it was pretty much zero maintenance ... unlike areas of ground cover I had.

Either look can be low or high maintenance, depending on lots of factors.

I'm glad you have a successful setup..but in my neighborhood the rocks I see have weeds, they're scattered about, the rocks look dirty and uneven and catch leaf litter and debris..I'm just not impressed with the look..whereas the groundcover covers mud and weeds and looks natural..just my observations..when you say that "either look can be low or high maintenance, depending on lots of factors" - ignored groundcover will look BETTER in my opinion than ignored areas of rocks..rocks are "messier" to me..I have ivy, pachysandra, lamium, sweet woodruff, 2 types of vinca, euonymous and golden moneywort which help keep the mud and weeds in check..I intend to clip them and tidy up but rarely get around to it and all of them look presentable..

I’ve seen my fair share of weedy, neglected groundcover areas, too. I’m glad the groundcover in your neighborhood looks so good. Sorry the rock looks so awful. Hopefully, your neighbors start caring how it looks.

Exactly as I said ... both can look good or bad. When done well, I like both looks very much. It doesn’t have to be either/or. Some people even do both in one area! Wow! (Actually a combo of hardscape and groundcover would look nice in OP’s spot.)

ETA to respond to your edit — Messy, weedy groundcover looks better than messy, weedy hardscape? Hmm. I think they both look equally terrible. But ok. And did the OP say anywhere, “I’ll be neglecting whatever I do, what’s the best neglected look?” I missed it, if so.

Miz_G..don't get upset please!..my neighbors do care!..otherwise they wouldn't spend money for rock..but we have so many trees and a lot of debris that it's hard to keep rock clean here..which means that it's not picture perfect..our groundcovers look good because they thrive in our good soil and choke out weeds..they are not "messy, weedy groundcover"..I was only trying to say to the OP that just "putting down pea gravel" may not be a one and done solution..I did NOT say the OP will ignore the area..they're trying to improve it!..I'm just not in agreement with you that rock is "pretty much zero maintenance ... unlike areas of groundcover I had" ..curious - what kind of groundcover were you growing?..

I’m not upset at all, nicholsworth. Truly. Just chatting along with you. Sorry if I seemed upset. I do need more coffee, possibly. Want to join me? :D

Bring groundcover ideas, I’m going to be needing to do a smallish area soon (a challenging area that gets full on Texas sun all day long).

ETA: “was only trying to say to the OP that just "putting down pea gravel" may not be a one and done solution..” I agree with this statement! Very true.

The issues with using rock for mulch or to surface an area are many and have been discussed on this and other forum ad nauseum!! In most areas of the country the maintenance level required by this is high......much higher than if one used a dense groundcover or even a more traditional wood type mulch.

For an area that looks like it might be used mostly for storage or at the very least, is not a very visible or highly trafficked area, then simplicity will always be the best approach. It is enough work to maintain the visible and functional part of the landscape - don't add to it by making more work for yourself!!

Miz_G..yay!..no feuding!..we can learn so much from each other..everyone's environment is different and not every plan is equally successful everywhere..a spot in my backyard..can you imagine trying to keep rocks clean in this area?

Oh, that’s beautiful, nicholsworth. I envy your big trees! Yes, for that area, groundcover is certainly the best choice. Lush and pretty!

Yup, I always learn things on these boards. And so enjoy chatting about gardening with others passionate about it. I love seeing different areas of the country (even world) here. :)

Miz_G..thanks..I do love my home and neighborhood..now you can better understand why I said what I did..I also love hearing about gardens all around the world..all different but each beautiful..

You could use porous pave. http://www.porouspaveinc.com/

you can plant hydrangeas, they love water and grows in shade

Hostas. They come back every year and grow in the shade

I used to have small-ish rock for mulch. Never again. What a pain. Do you have pets or children? What joy they take in scattering rock-mulch around!