Good luck with finding inexpensive plants around here! Ha.

As far as shade plants, we can do all the usual suspects. Hosta, astilbe, ferns, foxgloves, hydrangea, heuchera, hellebores, anemones, aquilegia, sweet woodruff, cimicifuga (I forget the reclassified name-sorry), carex (sedge), pulmonaria, brunnera, asarum, etc.. I have tradescantia, too. My oakleaf hydrangeas are beautiful right now. There are just so many and we are in one of those zones that works for such a variety.

I live in Alexandria, so as far as nurseries, I love Merrifield, Green Street Gardens (a couple minutes by car from my house), and Behnke's in MD. None is inexpensive, though, but what can we do? We live near DC. Oh well. For my hosta, I always do mail order from places that test for HVX.

School just ended, so I will be weeding, mulching, and finishing containers this coming week-in our miserable humid and hot weather. There was a "sustainable gardens" tour in Fairfax County last weekend. I had planned to go, but it was already in the 90s, so I skipped it. Maybe next year!

If your friend really has no ideas and wants to email me, I am always happy to help fellow gardeners! I will see if I linked my email here. I did with the old garden web, but not sure if it transferred over to this site.

Cynthia

I found some 4packs at my Kmart in MD (DC suburbs). And, I believe Wal-Mart has cheap plants, but there is none near me , so I can't attest to the quality. The nicer nurseries are $5 - $20 per perennial here. I go to a great one in N Potomac and I get great plants for a big price

Around here, we are getting hot. I mean, the last few weeks were just the warming up period. It might be better to think of planting in September.

Oh, a nice option especially for woodlands is the chartreuse bleeding heart. In the shade, it is supposed to last most of the season. I just bought mine($19!) and it is beautiful with my hostas.

Ianna, if you can find someone who already has a shady garden that has been in place for more than three years, they might be happy to donate divisions or seedling volunteers. That is an excellent way to get mature plants for not much money. If you can find an elderly person who has been gardening for a long time, they can be a treasure trove of information, and might be extremely appreciative of some help around the garden with tasks they aren't physically able to manage anymore. They would probably be thrilled to donate a few plants. Are you a member of a church? Church is a good place to meet people. Or try a local gardening organization. Good luck.

Martha

bleeding heart.. why didn't I think of that.. Sure that would work.
docmom -- that's what I had suggested to my friend but its rather unusual for their neighborhood.. I'm not sure if their church has such activities - they do fundraiser garage sales but not plants.

I gave tips about dividing newly purchased plants to create more plants.

over here, I would go to the botanical garden plant sales, hardware store & grocery store seasonal sales, flea markets, corner convenience stores and such.. the hunt for the priced plant was a thrill. I guess I'm fortunate that in my area there are lots of such places available. I usually get my plants at low low costs. The only time i go to the established nurseries is to seek the most unusual types of plants.

If your friend would like some astilbe or tradescantia, I know I have plenty of that to share. Ferns, too, although it seems the ones I have are a bit invasive-brought one from my mother's garden in Pa. several years ago and have been giving them away to neighbors every year since! Will be dividing hosta in fall, too. Bleeding heart is a favorite. I will need to look for the one posierosie mentions. How lovely it would be to have some that last longer!

I found the name of the bleeding heart. It is called "gold heart". I bought it due to the enablers (a term of endearment) on the perennial forum. The flowers last about the same, but the golden foliage lasts longer for many and is quite attractive.

For free plants, sometimes various areas have plant swaps in the fall. Most have swaps in the Spring. I would suggest looking at the VA and Mid-Atlantic forums to see what has happened in the past.