I'm not familiar with the plants of zone 8/9 but there are undoubtedly an enormous number of plants that would thrive in shade in that zone. And if azaleas grow under pines, they would surely grow under the trees you have left. A good local nursery should be able to guide your plant choices.

You need to say your zone and nearest large city.

One plant that comes to mind is cast iron plant, Aspidistra elatior. Plants that grow with self-limiting heights are less work than shrubs which must be trimmed to limit their height. There are also ferns, Japanese blood grass and a slew of common groundcovers, such as Liriope.

When beds are under trees, it does not look very good when tree branches remain too low. There needs to be a distinct clearance between the bed plants and the tree foliage ... and a clean, clear trunk(s) in between.

Yardvaark, central Louisiana, zone 8b almost into zone 9.

Thank ya'll for the advice. The closest large city is Alexandria. It's about 1.5 hours away. We are in a very rural community. There are a few small nurseries about an hour away. I do like the a lot of your suggestions Yardvaark. I am trying to add some variety from all the azaleas in the front yard. We recently trimmed all the low hanging branches and cleaned up saplings around the base of the large trees.

Thank you all for replies. I have tried seeking help from other forums and received no responses.

Add Persian shield, star or asiatic jasmine, heuchera. (Verify that any grow in your area.)

I would add that it would have more visual impact and be easier to maintain, to have only one type of plant per bed. Mixing the materials in a bed will be a busier look.

Are there any bromeliads that grow there. Some of those can be good for under trees.

Thank you again for the advice. I have looked into heuchera (alumroot). It seems like a very hardy and easy maintenance plant with lots of color. I will make a list of all the plants I'm interested in. The next time we make a trip into town I'll check in with a nursery and see when they get some of these plants in stock. We do have a some scatterings of liriope in the front yard. Some are very healthy and lush, but the ones planted under trees haven't spread much. All of the plants you have suggested grow well down here. I usually see the bromeliads as potted plants though.

I am starting to get a good feel about the direction I want to go instead of feeling overwhelmed.

I will do my research. I have bought invasive plants in the past and do not want to make that mistake again. Having enough soil to plant in is one of my top concerns, followed by the amount of shade. I know I can't put too much soil over the top of the roots because I will risk damaging the tree's trunk. Thinking a potted shade garden with some ground cover plants between them will be my best bet.

I'm in zone 9a and we have quite a few bromeliads that grow outdoors here. I didn't know if that category grow to the north of me, but figured one or two might.

Planting among the roots of existing trees works best with the SMALLEST version of a plant that is available .... usually a rooted cutting, or root pieces, depending on what the plant it is and if it will grow from that.

A common mistake in creating beds below tree is in making them too small. Imagine that the tree is growing in a pot. The size of the area that represents the soil surface in the imagined pot is about the right minimum size for the island. And the islands look best if the tree is at, or near their center ... not near the island edge. The island shape is frequently circular ... but it could be square or rectangular if the theme of the overall landscape art requires it. Sometimes, if the island is near a drive, it is a D, or modified D-shape. The worst shapes are careless circles that are comprised with flat spots and angles along their perimeter.

I am in a suburb of Atlanta, so north of you. My son lived in south Mississippi and I have many friends living in central alabama, so here is my advice for what it's worth...

First, I like your yard very much as is, and any flowers you put there will be a lot more work than mowing, so if you decide to leave it as is minus any pine trees it will be very pretty. At best I would put a line of shrubs by the roadside if the road is big.

Second, if you just want flowers, I'd be sure to follow yardvark's advice about bed size and shape. I have heucherella, tiarella, variegated solomon's seal, hosta, maybe some columbine left in my shade beds. Heuchera doesn't live a long time for me, although you may want to get the advice of your nearest plant nursery, not a big box store. Hosta is a plant that grows well up north, so be sure to get advice about what grows well where you live. I would be tempted to divide what already grows well there and just live with the smaller plants awhile. You can also grow plants that get dappled sunshine near the edges of your trees, like small gardenias. Keep in mind that your trees will continue to grow, so your plants that start off in dappled sunlight will eventually be in deep shade and root competition. I have ginger lily, canna lily, hydrangea. camellias, more solomon's seal, more hosta, etc. in dappled sun.

Third, if you want seasonal color you can probably find sunpatiens or coleus or something to give you a splash of color around your trees. You can also nestle some pots around your trees if you like. I love the look of plantings in the ground but I've seen some potted plants very nicely done. I would advise my daughter to get big pots if she liked pots, they are easier than small ones.

Fourth, you can see snakes and things a lot better under your trees with nothing under the trees, so I'd slap a tree swing on there and call it good. It is very pretty as is. You do whatever you like, though, and it will be lovely either way.

Thank you for pointing out the snakes. They do get around here. We have some box hedges we plan on taking out from in front of the house cause there are animal holes under them and we've seen at least 2 snakes by the front door. Thank goodness for storm doors and that it was the hubby who opened the door. I do plan on lining the driveway with some border grass to define it a bit better. Whatever I use will have to be tuff since we do drive around the yard a lot with a tractor. The liriope with have in spots by the driveway now is very resilient. I plan on dividing it and spreading it out. We are also going to put in a flower bed where the box hedges are now and maybe I will just have to settle with that for now. We have plans to do full sun flower beds in the back yard and a decent sized garden to the side of the house since it will get the morning sun and shaded in the evening. The street in front of the house is a highway but doesn't get a lot of traffic. We are in farm land so we have a lot of over-sized equipment on the roads so I don't plan on trying to grow anything near the roadway because it will get tore up.