Question
QUESTION: Is there a rose that works as a great cover for a hill/large sided ditch, that isn't as thorny as the carpet rose?  I live in zone five I think (Ohio)

ANSWER: Most of the so called thornless roses are big ones such as ramblers or climbers. Not really good ones to cover a hill. However gardeners have used ramblers with success. I have loked through my rose data base and there really isn't any I could suggest to you that have only a few thorns. Landscape roses do tends to be thorny. I guess they think you will plant them and then forget about them. The shrub I use to cover anything  in the garden is Bonica. It has some thorns but they are not vicious. The problem here is that I garden in the PNW and it can be kept down to about 3 or 4 feet. If you garden in a warm area then it will grow to 6 feet. You can prune this rose back with an electric hedge trimmer. I have done it and it works very well.

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

QUESTION: Is ther a flowering ground cover that is not considered a weed by any state?  I want it to spread, but I don't want phlox, etc that gets way out of hand.  Is nasturtium a good choice?  I heard it is great in the garden to repel grubs, too.  Is that true?

Answer
Nasturtiums are a good choice but it depends where you garden as they are an annual and have to be replanted every year. If you garden in a warm winter area, then try the climbing type of nasturtiums as it will grow to about 6 feet long. Also stay away from any of the hybrid and try to select the common old ones as they will be tougher than the others.As for them repelling grubs, I am not knowledgeable in this field so one would have to ask the grubs. Here is some info for you about these annuals.
http://www.sallybernstein.com/food/columns/gilbert/nasturtiums.htm