What are your favorite shade-loving plants for Virginia?

I'm spending some time on the east coast (Richmond, VA area) with my in-laws before moving to Scotland. My mother-in-law has wanted me to help her with her garden for awhile, but having spent all my time gardening in the blazing sun and dryness of southern California, I'm not sure what plants would be best for her yard! She's got a lot of tree cover creating light shade all over the yard (hickories and oaks, for the most part), so plants will only get a little dappled sunlight. They don't have any irrigation in place, and really want it to be a mostly-maintenance free garden that would only require supplemental water during drought periods.

I would appreciate any suggestions for low-maintenance, shade loving plants! I love to incorporate native plants into my designs, so suggestions for beautiful VA natives would be especially welcomed (as well as mole/vole resistant ones-- they're having a problem with the critters right now).

Thanks!

Hi Fritchie21! Welcome!

I currently have very little shade in my tiny townhouse backyard but there are oodles of shade loving plants I would grow if I could grow them:

Many bulbs, esp. daffodils
Astilbes
Variegated Solomon's Seal
Ferns: not just for bogs!
Rhodies, azeleas will tolerate shade but not be so floriferous.
Mountain Laurel

I'm sure lots of others will chime in with more. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

What a fun project! In addition to the plants already mentioned, here are some of the shade-loving perennials I have in my garden in the DC area (Maryland side).

Hostas
Heuchera
Hydrangea
Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica)
Lady's Mantle
Sedge Evergold
Turtlehead
Umbrella plant (Syneilesis palmata)
Liriope muscari
Skimmia japonica
Jacob's Ladder
Lungwort
Bergenia
Helleborus
Begonia grandis


This message was edited Sep 28, 2013 11:44 AM

Fritchie--

Does your MIL have any Houseplants that could be grought outside for the summer?
These can add a lot of color and interest....a lovely fern hanging from one of the trees,
A Spider Plant---an Ivy--almost anything.
Of course--they would have to be brought in and out. Is she up to that???
I use a lot of Coleus in my beds....Take a look. This may be from a few years ago....

--Coleus of every color would be beautiful! There are so many varieties now.
I love them the way they all grow together to create a canopy of color.
--Caladiums are gorgeous! Of course--you need to dig them up.
--Begonia Grandis is a perennial--and blooms late in the summer.
--Ferns--OH so pretty! You caan see all these in Picture #3.
--Astilbes--if you have a moist, rich earth spot. (#4)
--Endless Summer Hydrangea--a great anchor plant

Hope this gives you some ideas. Gita

Fritchie, What part of Virginia? There are three pretty distinct growing regions in Virginia: the mountains, the piedmont, and the coastal plain, each with a different list of reccomended plants

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/nativeplants.shtml

There is an active Native Plant Society that should be quite helpful also

http://vnps.org/wp/resources/flora-of-virginia/

I like to start with understory trees and shrubs and then fill in from there. A local nursery or two should have some good suggestions.

Bead fernn aka sensitive fern is native and great even with dryer garden such as around lots of trees. Be sure to water well to get things established.
Native woode poppy Staphylophorus..(sp?)) .not european wood poppy
ditto daffodils and crocus

We're less than 100 miles north of Richmond and have lots of shade. For the hosta and heuchera, deer and voles are a problem, but there are granules you can put in the vole holes. We have hellebores that are happy in the shade and Campanula Elizabeth seems to thrive. It does well too in the Northern Neck at my folks' place.

One native I particularly love is rue anemone. As others have mentioned, there are lots of varieties of ferns that are happy in VA. Also, Astilbe, Physostegia virginiana, Thalictrum and Aquilegia do well in our yard. I have not noticed the voles around them. Acanthus is a really interesting plant and we have a few and really enjoy seeing their flower spikes. I would also recommend foxglove varieties.

Pat