Jennie, if it is dappled shade like I have under our big old oaks, lots of plants will do fine. Although I don't usually plant with seed, you can grow aquilegia (columbine), tiarella (foam flower), digitalis (foxglove-biennial,won't bloom first year), sweet woodruff, hosta (easier to buy the plant actually), hellebore (I haven't seen bees around mine, but I would think any flower would attract them), dicentra (bleeding heart-goes dormant in heat of summer). Anemones will bloom in the fall here in northern VA, but I am not sure how easy it is to plant them by seed. If you put in a few shrubs and then sow the perennials, you should have a wonderful garden by next year. If you want, you can also plant understory trees like dogwoods, serviceberries (shrub-like), etc. Also, check out the native plants site I've linked. You'll have the most success with plants that are adapted to your area. I hope it takes you to the part shade/shade plants that I searched for. You can narrow the search even more if you want. If you live in northern VA, a resource is Green Spring Gardens. Beautiful gardens and lots of knowledgeable people to help!

Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: natives