My creeping jenny is in a mulched garden bed that runs along the west side of my house. You can see it in the mower strip cement plop picture, especially under the garden bench. It does very well there.

I have a hill in my yard that's subject to blistering summer heat and frigid winter cold. The "soil" is mostly rocks sitting in dust. It's too steep to mow and over the years I have planted it with groundcovers.

Dragon's Blood sedum and other varieties of sedums did well but are shallow rooted and easily torn up by the dog's feet as she chases squirrels. There's also the weed issue till it gets tightly established.

Tried pachysandra but it just fried to a crisp. Blue rug juniper also has done poorly (planted nearly 20 years ago and still under 2 feet of spread). The ajuga I tried turned an enemic gray/brown and was eventually taken over by weeds.

What's done best for me in this area is periwinkle. Would it be low enough for the area you have in mind?

Dianne (what a week, sorry!)
I think I know what will work on your hill:
Eubhorbia Cyparissias, a little spurge I have dug up on 9W,
it spreads all right!
I find it very pretty and interesting all season.
I have it in a big corner of a bed around some dwarf evergreens
it can mostly have to itself, I'm just going to put
some bulbs in with it this fall.
It grows about 9' tall, very bushy and filling, too tall and aggressive for
growing in among other perennials as I want to do with 'Jenny',
though not hard to yank out if it gets out of hand.

I got six pots of Jenny, I hope I'll get them in this weekend
(it's supposed to be ghastly) in several places, to see where it does best.
There are supposedly Ajuga cultivars now that tolerate sun,
I might try some of that too. I really like Ajuga. In my yard, once established,
it hogs all the light and really COVERS the ground. No idea how well
it would play with others in a bed though.

I also got some creeping Phlox on sale to try out.

Vinca always grows kinda sparse for me, no match for those hideous
wild Artemisias (Mugwort, I think), they're my bane here.

Here's a pic of the Spurge:

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:971882}}

It's really groundcover time for me!
I've now planted a bunch of different ones, some of them as "place-holders",
To keep the weeds down until I know what I'm doing in a given spot.
I've found Nepeta Walker's low, though I'm not crazy about it otherwise,
to be a very effective place-holder.

Also trying: White flowered Campanula Carpatica
(fighting it out with red and purple Bee balm),
Creeping Speedwell and Creeping Phlox, variegated Ajuga and also the bronzy one.

All of these were on sale at my little local garden place for 1.75 a pot.
Next year I'll know if this was a bad idea ;)

Linnea:
That's a great idea--starting with a bed of groundcover and letting it get established before putting in larger plants. You get an idea of what it looks like en mass. If you already have the larger plants growing somewhere you'll know right away if the proportions will work between them. I'll have to try that.

I always do the opposite, sometimes with unsatisfactory results. Your way will prevent inappropriate pairings. Right now I'm trying to get white lamium "Nancy" to establish in my larger hosta beds. I've got my fingers crossed that it ends up to be a good idea.

Dianne,
most of mine are done like yours, bigger plants first, then groundcovers.
Not a bad idea, really, since so many of them like at least part shade.
The Nepeta was a lucky exception. Hearing all the Brits swearing by its
reliability and good behavior, I found some on sale and thought to try them out.
The benefit I get is probably not what they had in mind at all :o)
But yes, you're expanding on the concept now, it does work, showing the mass
and form, insipid as it is, and keeps most of the weeds out, which would
otherwise distract with their never-ending mess.

I have a poor little Lamium down by the pond, cowering near a Petasites Giganteus,
that's just starting to feel frisky and surveying the real estate.
A volunteer creeping Charlie is already almost covering it too.
Hostas are probably be better company for it, yours should do well.

I also planted one of those horribly expensive Hakonechloa grasses,
which promptly died and was replaced free by the nursery.
I'm planning to give those another good try.

I have recently put in a large bed of Hosta Blue Cadet in a shady moist area adjoining my lawn. I am planning to fill in with Creeping Jeny. Is this a bad idea? Will it take over my lawn?

Lisap, I think it will be fine. They seem to spread from the top, not easy in
established turf. You can always mow it too.

My six plants are now slowly spreading, it's been a dry spring.
Weeding in and around them is, as expected, pretty bad.
My variegated Ajuga died immediately, no idea why, the purple variety is digging in fine.

My Petasites has staked out a 5x5' area, I don't think I'll be weeding there any more.
The Hakonechloa replacement is alive and seemingly well.

I've discovered Trifolium repens 'Dark dancer' and have high hopes for it.
The deer are grazing it (haven't had time to spray) but I can tell it's a tough plant.
It's very beautiful, the label said "spreads", and I hope it does.
I'm still looking for other interesting ground covers.

I've got the golden moneywort (lysimachia nummularia aurea) in a difficult spot where the oil man treads on it in cold weather and I walk on it to get to the water faucet all summer. It's doing fine. Have ajuga in a partly shaded moist area down by the creek where it's fighting it out with filipendula (tall in bloom but at other times a ground cover) and monarda. Vinca has taken over the south facing bank below my driveway and has crept into a border - that will survive just about anything. I've got lamium White Nancy in front of one bed and lamiastrum Hermans Pride ats a corner across the way (in my experience it needs some sun) A favorite is epimedium for dry shade under an apple tree. And sweet woodruff which I pull out by the handfuls but it's a great filler inner. European ginger is another great grond cover - almost everygreen.
I don't like bare soil which just attracts weed and anyway, that's not my style of garden. So ground covers are something I go for even in mixed borders.