Hello Andrew,

There are a number of native plant choices you can use in a partly-shaded/wooded area. If deer browse the area, candidate options may be quite restricted. We don't recommend any particular company sources or specific brand blends, though many of what's available will be meant for sunny, meadow-type plantings. (Additionally, many "wildflower" pre-packaged blends are either not locally-native species - or not native to Eastern North America at all - or may be sourced for prairie-type ecosystems and not suitable for our soil and weather conditions.)

Below are a few starter ideas of local native species, though the list is not all-inclusive. Starting with plants (either as plugs or larger pots) as opposed to seed will be more costly and labor-intensive at first but probably easier to work with and capable of filling-in faster. It can be difficult to keep a seed bed free of aggressive, competitive/invasive weeds since the young seedlings of the desirable plants may be hard to distinguish from new weeds. You can plant any time the ground isn't frozen, though nursery availability will fluctuate throughout the year. You can always install the planting piecemeal, adding to the area as species become available or as you are able to clear out any pre-existing non-native vegetation.

A mix of species is definitely the best approach, not only to maximize wildlife value but also to ensure against a future problem (pest, disease, odd weather) affecting the entire planting equally severely. When using aggressive natives (those that spread easily), it's good to use one aggressive species to help contain another, so neither dominates the planting by taking-over slower growers. Or, just use them at one end of the planting so those slower to establish have time to fill in unimpeded.

• Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea, formerly named Senecio aureus) - aggressive
• White Wood Aster (Eurybia divaricata, formerly named Aster divaricatus) - aggressive
• Blue Wood Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium, formerly named Aster cordifolius) - aggressive
• Green-and-Gold (Chrysogonum virginianum)
• Coral Bells / Alumroot (Heuchera americana and Heuchera villosa, respectively)
• Brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba)
• Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum, formerly named Eupatorium coelestinum) - moderately aggressive
• Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) - moderately aggressive; a shrub that can sucker (grows new stems from roots, forming wide colony)
• deciduous Azaleas (Rhododendron viscosum, R. periclymenoides, R. atlanticum)
• Jewelweed (Impatiens capansis and Impatiens pallida) - annuals, and will self-sow somewhat aggressively; probably easier to find as seed than as started plants
• Eastern Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
• Creeping Phlox and Woodland Phlox (Phlox stolonifera and Phlox divaricata, respectively)
• Early Saxifrage (Micranthes virginiensis, formerly named Saxifraga virginiensis)
• Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus)
• Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)

Miri