If star jasmine does well in your area, that seems like a good selection. It's slow to get started, but does well the second year and onward. Run some drip lines when you plant it that are fed by a hose connection. That way you can drag a hose over to the area and hook it up for a nice slow watering that won't produce a lot of run off. Once it's established, you can pull the drip lines out or just cover them up. Depending on how steep your slope is, some gorilla hair type mulch should help get the young plants started too.

To look pretty star jasmine is going to need a decent amount of water, and it harbors snails, too. Weeds will sprout through anything; you must remove them before they can set seed.

I've found Teucrium chamaedrys and the lower growing T. chamaedrys prostratum to be a good, tough, long lived, low-water ground cover. The foliage stays a deep green. I have plants going on 15 years still as vigorous and good looking as when first planted. When the plants eventually look a little tired, cutting back rejuvenates them.

Thanks for the thoughts! I've tried gorilla hair mulch, it gets so many weeds coming through in winter and breaks down really fast :-( I put some down last spring, most of it was gone by this spring.

Hadn't considered that snails would also live in the star jasmine...maybe they will live in any evergreen plant growing low to the ground.

Intrigued by the germander! I definitely prefer a more informal look, and I was a bit worried about the star jasmine getting up into the trees and shrubs if I forget to prune it for a few months.

Yes I've really struggled with the weeds in this spot because our house is on a corner, and this spot is right at the corner next to the sidewalk, and I really hate being down there next to the sidewalk while I garden. Every year I tell myself I won't let the weeds go crazy, every year it happens again.

We have a yard border of at least 100 feet of star jasmine. For us it has been trouble-free. I find it tough, requiring little water once established, pretty bloom in the spring. We've never had any trouble with pests or disease, including snails. A few tall weeds and even volunteer trees have popped up over the years, but they are easily dispatched. Ours requires trimming at least once a year as it tumbles over the curb, out onto the lawn and gets too tall. Yes, it will climb if given something to hang onto. Easily thwarted with a clipper!

I agree about the slow starting. I planted some from a flat a couple months ago, and it's doing ok but not as fast growing as I thought. Maybe it will kick in soon.

I cannot say whether it would be good on a slope.

I've seen beds of Echeveria that are thick enough to keep weeds out.