Lawn turf is the plant that solves the problem of what to use to "upholster" the ground in the sunny areas. It is not the plant for shade, but there are numerous groundcovers that work in a shady areas. When I lived in the Atlanta area I had English Ivy below large oaks and it was low maintenance because it "ate" all leaves so there was no raking at all. The only maintenance I had to provide was a 2 or 3 times per summer spot spray for weeds (45 minutes per quarter acre,) once per month edging where it met the lawn and once per year cutting at the base of trees. You might investigate what plants grow well as groundcovers where you live.