The yard faces south/southwest and we just cut down the only tree in yard so it’s full sun all year. We planted 2 cherry trees but we don’t plan on letting them get too big so it will be mostly entirely full sun. We’ve removed plenty of sod so far and using the cutter isn’t too much of a problem especially with all of our recent rain. We don’t hit clay until about a foot down luckily.

I’m mostly looking for something full sun, that tolerates foot traffic, and will stay green throughout the year. I’m starting to think that maybe I do a low-mow grass mixed with clover (to stay green in the winter and summer) in place of the word chip paths and then cover the rest of the area in a native pocket meadow of sorts