Here are some of my favorites that do well in this area.

Monkshood- Aconitum arendesii

This perennial is an old fashioned one with violet blue hooded blooms.

It is beautiful in a border or as a flash of color in a flower arrangement.

After a few years, the slender stalk with glossy green leaves stands up on it’s own without the aid of a small stake.

It is toxic. So grab your puppy when she starts to gnaw.

Japanese Beautyberry – Callicarpa

This is a shrub that flowers in the summer, but its real punch in the garden is in the fall, when purple or white berries form.

The berries alternate along each stem. The birds gobble them up after all other food is gone.  The growth habit of the overall plant is not ball shaped, but more like a fountain of water with a relaxed flow. Deer have eaten part of my branches once or twice in early fall, but nothing dramatic (as of today anyway).

Cardinal flower – Lobelia

I remember seeing this flower when it was on the conservation list in the early 70’s.  I was at a girls’ tripping camp, and we were portaging canoes through a fog along the Rapid River in Maine. The cold air off the river met the warm air of August and a dense mist was around us.  There along the river in the midst of brown leaves and pine needles was a spot of red. I’ll never forget it. These flowers like it wet and have the advantage of attracting hummingbirds.  They can bloom from mid summer through the fall.  Hybridization has made them available in blues and purples with green or dark red leaves.  The upright flower makes them a vertical perennial that can stand 2-4 ft high with maturity. They spread in size and poke up in all sorts of places in your garden.

Pink Muhly grass- Muhlenbergia capillaris

Wow!  Talk about a bang for your buck! I planted this in my meadow by accident.  I had pulled another type of grass from a nursery row and got 5 of these by mistake.  So, I did what any self respecting gardener would do and bought 7 more!  Then I had to make another garden bed, just for them. These get about 3’ high with maturity,  have fine thin leaves that hold up on their own, are drought tolerant, move beautifully in the wind, and are deer proof.  What else do you need?

Christie lives in Manakin Sabot , Virginia where she manages a 3 acre garden. Her blogs are written from her 35 years as a personal and professional gardener.