Permanent cover crop?

I am clearing some overgrown land next to my house.  It was cleared by the owner 20 years ago and then allowed to grow back.
I am wanting to turn it into an orchard (Pawpaw, Asian Persimmon) and an area for raised bed hugel kulture for veggies.  My retirement plan.
It will likely be many years before I think about adding a chicken tractor so there will be no grazing animals.

I can get all the wood chips I can handle over time and will build mounds where the fruit trees are in order to control weeds.
I will start the orchard with seedlings (Pawpaw and American Persimmon) and then I will graft on better varieties.  I will also include a few of other fruit trees (Mulberry, Jujube, Pineapple Guava)  

Is there a permanent cover crop that I can plant in early fall that would grow in full sun for the first several years and then be a good ground cover when the trees provide shade?
Or would it be better to do a fall cover crop and then spring/summer?

White clover would fit the bill, I use that mixed with grass and plenty of other short (ish) weeds between my strawberries, Fruit trees at decent spacing shouldn't ever shade it out. I do mow mine occasionally but only as I need access to the strawberries without getting soaking feet from the dew.

A mix of dutch white clover (winter) and perennial peanut (summer).

S Bengi wrote: and perennial peanut (summer).

Do these come back every spring? I am in North Alabama and from what I read it is a crop in south Alabama.
Sounds ideal though.

Give quite a few cultivars a try. Its zone pushing but others have it growing in zone  7b.
http://southeastgarden.com/arachis.html