yes there are some lovely ones for use as ground cover, in a range of leaf form and colour.

Thanks Seaburngirl - I already have some ivy plants that I bought to put elsewhere and changed my mind, and then thought of this possible solution. Do they have to be specifically for ground cover, or could I just use the ones I've got? I don't know what variety they are but they're yellow and green variegated.

Any varieties will be fine - the ones you've got sound great. Variegated plants tend to grow more slowly than all green ones as there's no chlorophyll that the plants need to make materials for growth where they're not green, but slower growing is better in this case IMHO.

Just keep your pruning shears handy, Jan, if the ground cover area abuts tree trunks or walls!

Thank you all for your suggestions, and I'll keep those shears handy!