Pachysandra can be aggressive eventually but if kept within bounds (that is, not on the edge of a woodland area), it should be manageable. I believe they sell it in plugs at home depot. As for cuttings, if you see it growing somewhere, just ask the homeowner if you can take some cuttings. I'll bet that most would say "sure!".

You can also consider covering the area with a coarse wood mulch. Coarse, irregularly shaped shredded wood mulch will "knit together" and perform better on a slope than things like pine nuggets (which tend to float away). The best and most cost effective place is a landscape supplier (we have a place near me called "The Mulch Man"). You can get it delivered by the truckload (different sizes of trucks, of course). I have tried to buy this in bags at home depot, but the coarseness of it varies greatly and sometimes it is not coarse enough.

In my opinion, mulch is the fastest way to get a good look while you are waiting for plants to grow or deciding what you want.

Hey Butterbeanee -- We have a sloped front yard too. I am in the process of working on it.

One thing that has helped as I do the digging and planting is to use stones in strategic locations to prevent erosion. My situation is different from yours in that I have established grass, which I am getting rid of.

But in the areas where I'm removing the grass, amending the soil, and planting new plants, I use rocks here and there to keep the dirt from running down the hill when it rains. I don't know if you have any old stones in your yard or not -- our neighborhood has lots of them! We use them almost like a form of pseudo terracing. When plants begin to take hold and can handle the water run off, we just move the rock or rocks to the next place we're working on.

This might be something that would help you in spots.

Good luck!

I agree that coarse mulch is a great way to start. You might contact your county because some counties have free mulch they will either load for you or you might have to load it yourself. The mulch comes from ground up downed neighborhood trees, limbs, and leaves. Good stuff! Also, you might consider Chrysogonum virginianum as a native ground cover. It covers well, especially the selection, "Eco-lacquered Spider" and will not get invasive. It tolerates dry shade and blooms in the spring with yellow daisy-like flowers. I think Japanese pachysandra is too aggressive, maybe use our native pachsandra, Pachysandra procumbens.

You might also consider grading the site and create a creek bed, that would be dry most of the time, but could handle the runoff when necessary. It could become a design feature with accompanying creek-side plantings.

You could also collect the roof water in barrels for use later.

i have saxifraga stolonifera (strawberry begonia) in shade and it is covering exposed areas quickly. seems to be easy to pull away from unwanted areas. it is evergreen and has delicate, airy flower spikes in spring. i doubt it is suitable for an area with much foot traffic, though, if your yard is travelled across.