Ivy is the only evergreen ditch-lover I can think of for steep sides. There are several very dwarf (almost sprawling) evergreens, especially among the arborvitae, but they won't prevent washing and they will need to be mulched (or weeded frequently) which makes them not easy-care for a very steep slope.

Lavender is a possibility. It loves the fast drainage of a steep slope; but none of mine are actually evergreen. Daylilies are another possibility; you might be far enough south that "evergreen" really is; and once established, daylilies are pretty much carefree and good at shading out weeds.

Since it's the front of the home, why not consider a mix of plants, such as dwarf arborvitae or cypress interplanted with daylilies? That would provide color and form both winter and summer, and be comparatively easy to care for.

I have a similar area that I've been trying to plant, though mine is not nearly so steep. It is very dry and hot and the soil is very light and dusty. I've killed innumerable plants over the past year, trying to find what would work with little to no supplemental watering. So far, variegated yucca and euphorbia have done well and have remained evergreen. The yucca looks a little weary right now, but the euphorbia is blooming. I'll probably add more of these this year. The two small gold globe arborvitae I planted still look good. I've tried various grasses with mixed results. I call the area The Grasslands, so I'm hoping I can actually get more grasses established. I'm going to add some Indian Grass this year since Robin kindly sent me some seeds. It is supposed to be good for dry areas but transplants best when young.
All the roses (Caldwell Pink, Knockout, Bermuda Kathleen, and La Marne) have survived. They bloomed last spring but spent the summer just trying to stay alive during the hot, dry weather. Right now, they are leafing out beautifully and I expect a good spring flush. I also added two species roses: Rosa primula, and Rosa hugonis, both yellow, early bloomers that are supposed to be very tough. To make the bed, I just put down a layer of newspapers to kill the weeds and covered with mulch. With our dry weather, the newspaper has not totally broken down still, but I am going to add more mulch this spring (when I can find time!!)
I hope you find some helpful info in all this rambling!
Best wishes.
-Stephanie

Consider blue rug juniper... can be a gorgeous and hardy evergreen ground cover in difficult areas. I also second the notion on daylillies...

At White Flower Farm they sell a planting package that works great on steep slopes -- a mix of daylilies and daffodils. The daffs come up in the spring and the daylilies dominate through the summer.

Brenda

I am supposing this is in the sun...for a cheap fast solution, I too recommend ivy and daylilies which will work in sun or partial shade. Ivy is easily rooted from cuttings most anyone will allow you to take for free and the naturalized orange "ditch lily" is readily available available for free in most rural areas. Just stop at the closest house(or come see me)and they will give you permission to dig up all you want...in most cases. If it must remain low and you still wold like daylilies, you could purchase Stella D'Oro(golden yellow bloom/reblooming)they will multiply rapidly in the next couple of seasons. Daffodil bulbs and other spring bulbs are great interplanted with daylilies as you get two seasons of color in one plot and the daylily leaves cover the daffodil foliage as they fade. This fall would be soon enough to plant these as you will still have space between the lilies. You could inter-plant lilies with ivy and/or ajuga, perennial vinca or any number of other compatible creeping plants. Pockets of hardy summer and fall blooming bulbs would also add some contination of color.

The secret would be in preparing your bank. If it is already covered in grasses and weeds, you could use an herbicide, but I have had great results in using thick layers of wet newspaper covered with layer or landscaping burlap. Just cut through at regular spaces to put your plants in. If you plan to greatly disturb the soil, you should consider terracing and covering this with bands of landscaping burlap that extend several inches (2-4) above the terraced layers, held in place at regular intervals with short stakes to hold the soil in place. To this you could add fine mulch which would decompose along with the burlap over the next several years as your planting matures.

I don't recommend the blue rug for very large plantings unless you are prepared to monitor and treat for cedar bag worms. They can be a pain to deal with in this region.

Olivia

I have this problem, as well. I moved into my house 10 yrs ago, and started with the round-up and then planted vinca major and peppermint on the bank. Then I added some daylilies and some monarda where they would not interfere with the sightlines for traffic. I am in the process of pulling out the vinca now, and would probably have left it if it had been vinca minor instead. A bonus with the vinca is the nice blue spring blooms that you would not get with the ivy.