Question
I live on a cul-de-sac and have a LARGE bare are in my yard because cars turning around often drive up and over this area, killing grass and throwing gravel up occasionally.  Needless to say, I'd like to plant something more obvious than grass.  They probably wouldn't be quite as likely to run over shrubbery (I might be wrong...but I hope not).  Another problem is that a lot of this area is underneath a large liveoak tree and receives a lot of shade during the day.  Any ideas for something that might work?  Something that blooms or foliage only are both fine with me.

Answer
Hi Nancy,

One idea that comes to mind is planting pachysandra.  It is a very hardy ground cover and will do well under the oak trees.  To prevent cars from running over the lawn I would set medium to large boulders in front 2-4 depending on how large your lawn is