hmm. steep, mostly sun?

I'd 'anchor' the bed with a few upright plants- Yucca are indestructable, and the roots go DEEP. and to really hold a bed together, you want a variety of root depths.

dwarf (low-grow) sumac is an option- I only just heard of the stuff this year, but if I had a barren hill, that's what I'd fill it in with, for the blazing fall foliage alone.

daylillies work, as would a ground cover rose.

there's also 'yellow archangel' as it's called in the hortiplex- it's aggressive, attractive, and cheap to propagate yourself- and semi-evergreen in my neck of the woods, taboot.

Thanks Chinacat- What about Bishop's weed or Goutweed? I hear that stuff is tough and invasive and easy to care for. I'm looking for something that can take some heat since we have had several weeks of 90+ heat wvaes here in Pa and something that i don't have to care for much. I'd like something that will move in and choke out the weeds and lame grass. Any ideas to fit the bill?

Chinacat has a good idea about upright plants. If you want a ground cover that will choke out weeds, you may think about crown vetch. It has pretty pink flowers and is an evergreen. I used flowering shrubs along my hills and am planting the crown vetch.

I have cotoneaster on a steep bank and it is great. I understand your concern about ripping out all the weeds and having your slope erode. I have the same issue. but I doubt anything can compete with those weeds (that's why weeds are so successful) What I do is try to plant the bones (any larger plants that won't be outcompeted by weeds) and give it some time to root in. Then pull all the weeds around and plant my groundcovers. St. Johns wort might work (as long as you can keep it in bounds), daylilies with a smaller groundcover such as ajuga could work. The thing to remember is that you need DEEP roots to hold a slope and then some shallower roots inbetween helps too. Good luck. -Ais.