We were wondering.. any ideas for groundcover that starting in the summer will get quite a bit of full blazing sun, lots of wind & in the winter will contend with frost. Our temperatures at night are 20-30 degrees and in the day 50-60. In the summer we can get as hot as 115. We'd prefer it to be somewhat of a drought tolerant plant. Oh and not to mention the area we need doesn't have the best drainage. Of course we can fix that slightly but for the most part it seems like an unlivable area. :-) We are putting a flagstone path in so I considered creeping thyme but can it survive the roughness? Any suggestions? And what is a good time to plant groundcover? Thanks!

Drainage is relatively critical with most plants - there is a short list of those that will tolerate less than ideal drainage, but for the most part, drought tolerant groundcovers require good drainage. What is there about your new garden that leads you to believe drainage is poor and what can you do to correct it? FWIW, any soil improvement you can do now before major planting will benefit you and the garden in the long run. I typically suggest to my clients to take the time and invest sufficient dollars into improving their soils before spending a lot of money on plants which may fail because of poor growing conditions.

Of what grows there, is there anything you would want to plant in your yard as a ground cover?

Have you considered sedum? There are many varieties, and they put up with a lot of neglect and abuse.