A friend very kindly shared some pieces of aptenia with me. I just love it; it looks a lot prettier in person. I know it grows well in California, I've seen it growing there. It should meet all your requirements. Here's some info from another posting: Here is a link that might be useful: aptenia

I've been pleasantly surprised by the durability of ajuga reptans, just about any variety of it. I thought it needed a cooler climate, until I saw that it had turned wild and was beneath the grass in several spots in my lawn. Right in there with some wild violets too. So taking a hint from what worked, I bought more ajuga, and it is all living in both my south Alabama garden and in our Massachusetts garden which is a zone 5B. Awesome plant. I love the bluish-purple fuzzy flower spikes it sends up too.

1. Purple wintercreeper is only minimally "purple" in winter but can develop a number of problems and not a highly recommended plant for your area. And the quickness of its spread is kinda relative - even in my zone I do not consider it very fast. 2. Leadwort is not evergreen, the blue is rather intense and yes, it IS of doubtful hardiness for you. 3. Vinca needs at least part shade. But should be hardy. I'd consider ajuga, cotoneaster or juniper. All are tough, durable plants hardy enough for your zone. Different ajuga varieties are available with colored foliage and most will have attractive blue flowers. Cotoneaster comes in both deciduous and evergreen forms, spreads rapidly and produces berries. Some cultivars do develop fall/winter color. Junipers don't do much other than cover the ground but they are excellent for sunny slopes and extremly low maintenance and drought tolerant once established. Just make sure you select true groundcover forms, like Juniperus horizontalis, as many others will grow far too tall and leggy. They do come in a range of foliar colors as well, from mint green to blue to golden yellow.

You've gotten some good plant suggestions so far, including to do a mixture, which is usually my preference if the area will be visible. T2D's front slope mixed planting is gorgeous. Perhaps she'll add a photo or two. Vinca should be fully hardy for you since it is for me. However, I find it crawls over my barrier (a 5" deep band of edging material with a row of bricks alongside) and roots in the lawn, so I wouldn't recommend it. This might be a good spot for variegated bishop's weed(Aegopodium), which is normally a pest since it doesn't play well with others, but if you want just one kind of plant, put a barrier around the bed and it should be OK. You could plant bulbs to come up through it. This might be evergreen for you, not sure. Ajuga would work and you could try some of the more resiliant coral bells(Heuchera) I have a rather steep bed in an area behind the house that isn't in our normal traffic pattern that I needed to fill quickly to prevent erosion, and since I had a bunch of the old-fashioned daylilies that I had dug up elsewhere in the garden, I used those. I'm now adding a few shrubs and other hardy perennials that I think will be willing to duke it out with the daylilies. Old-fashioned daylillies aren't evergreen, but they might be something you'd want to throw into a mixed bed as they are fine with full sun and don't need lots of water. Regardless of what you end up planting in the bed, prevention of weeds while your plants get established is really important. You want to kill everything that's currently growing there, whether by smothering it (do a search for lasagna gardening) or by covering it with black plastic for a couple of months or whatever method you choose. After planting, you might want to put down corn gluten which will discourage seeds from germinating and then a heavy layer of mulch on all the bare soil areas both to keep moisture in and prevent light from reaching the weed seeds and bits of roots that are in all soils and will sprout with light. Mulch will also prevent erosion until the soil is covered with plants and make any weeds that do come up easier to pull. Also, install your outer barrier either before you plant or just after since if you delay and grass crawls sideways into the bed, you will battle it forever. Here's a previous thread that might help you out: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/neweng/msg0317034129496.html Here is a link that might be useful: New England groundcover FAQ