I am in Zone 7 - and have a shady wooded area on the side of the house. I have some large tress and some large Rhododendron shrubs that do well. I have a bunch of hostas that also does well, however it is constantly attacked by deer. I want to pull the hostas and replace it with a shade garden that will survive the deer. I want to have layers of ferns and also some other plants that will provide color and texture The area is not on a sprinkler system so it only gets rain water. I am happy to start it off by watering regularly, but I eventually want it to be low maintenance. The soil is well drained. Any advice for some interesting plants that do well in this environment? Also some advice for ground cover, something that will take off quickly as I have a large area to fill.

Thanks