Question
QUESTION: Hi, I've found myself with a gardening conundrum. I have a steep (at least 15% grade, probably greater) large (30 by 50 foot) hill in my backyard.  About half of it gets sun in the hours around noon and half is partial shade to full shade.  Currently it is covered with grass, but it's really too much work to mow, and we're interested in changing it to a ground cover.  We have some vinca in front that I could transplant but I'd prefer to plant something native.  I'm right outside D.C. in Maryland, zone 7.  I would love to be able to plant Partridgeberry, but I suspect it's too sunny and too large an area.  We'd like it to be evergreen, are just having a hard time coming up with something suitable.

Any help with plant options and planting advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much,
Chelsea

ANSWER: I have all sorts of opinions on what you should grow -- I am partial to Sweet Woodruff and a few others -- but for best results check the interactive plant search at Bluestoneperennials.com:

bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/index.html

Pull up the page above, find the 'Custom Search' icon on the left side of the page, and plug in your parameters -- Zone 7, Ground Cover, Semi-Shade, Dry Shade (if this is a problem)... etc.

Creeping Patridgeberry produces berries that many native birds find irresistible.  It's a native plant that naturalizes very easily.  Bluestone does not sell it, but others do.  One is Triple Brook Farm:

www.tripplebrookfarm.com/

which reports (to ease your concerns about the amount of strong Sun this plot gets) that 'Partridgeberry plants which we are growing in full Sun in a moist, rich Soil have developed into compact mats of carpet-like density perhaps 1 1/2 inches thick.'

Here's the Patridgeberry page:

www.tripplebrookfarm.com/iplants/Mitchella.html

You may even find other plants you like better at this internet retailer.

Meantime, I would like to suggest that you also plant along with any small-leaved vine-like groundcover (Patridgeberry, Vinca etc) a LARGE leaved companion with different colorings, such as Hosta (of which there are many), to balance the landscape.

Any questions?  Do you have the acid soil needed for Patridgeberry?  Other favorites?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Wow, thanks for all of the options! Sweet Woodruff is stunning, but we really want a winter hardy evergreen.  The added attraction of berries is what drew us to Partridgeberry in the first place, but since then I've come across Creeping Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens).  
On a side note, I seem to have mistaken about the levels of sun, I forgot that there is a MASSIVE maple at the top of the hill in my neighbor's yard that successfully blocks out most of the sun, allowing only dappled sunlight.
There was actually a native plant sale today in Baltimore that a friend of mine went to and she's picked up ten three inch Creeping Wintergreen plants for me, so now I have another question:

Currently the hill is sparsely covered with grass and dandelions.  Part of my goal with the ground cover is to hamper erosion so I don't want to take out all the grass at once, but I also don't want it peaking through and competing with my young plants.  What is the best way to deal with the current vegetation?  

Answer
Sorry to get back to you so very late on this, but unfortunately I have been away without a laptop.  It is good to be home.

I should have pointed out at some point that even a small patch of Sod will solve the erosion you're worried about.

Wintergreen is a spectacular choice, I like it very much, wish I could have been at that plant sale.  It is a refreshing change and glows in shade.

Dandelions MUST be yanked out by the taproot and mulched then composted, or you will be dealing with them for the rest of your life. These are perennial pests.

Make totally sure they do not set Seed.  This won't be a problem once the mid-Summer is past.  They are really quite easy to control with diligence and vigilence.  A few good Dandelion Weeders are worth their weight in gold:

www.helium.com/items/984127-dandelion-different-those-lions

Start with some patches of Wintergreen and give them a season to fill in, then spread.  The rest should be protected (with Sod or a groundcover) to outfox Weeds.  Nature abhors a vacuum and if you don't have something growing in every inch of real estate you own, it will fill in like graffiti on a new subway car.

I hope this helps.  Keep me posted,

L.I.G.