'coral bells' is one of the earliest to bloom in my area, if you think it is light enough in color for your site. (see link below for photo) it is supposed to be hardy to zone 6b and is very common in nurseries here. 'pink pearl' is one of my favorites and i have several. it blooms just at the end of the cycle for 'coral bells' and will be about at peak by the weekend. another beautiful pale pink is 'amy', which will be flowering in another week or so. the pics below are from mid-april a few years ago. incidentally, i don't see 'fashion' as a light pink. it is almost a light orange/pink or salmon color to me. 'pink pearl' 'amy' and 'ben morrison' 'amy' Here is a link that might be useful: 'coral bells' azalea

You are very fortunate to have one of the best rhododendron nurseries in the country near you. It is www.rarefindnursery.com. They carry native rhododendrons including ones that are azaleas. They list of native North American Native Rhododendrons includes: Rhododendron Species   Common Name        Classification            Suitability R. alabamense       Alabama Azalea      deciduous azalea            yes R. albiflorum       Cascade azalea      deciduous elepidote rhod.   NO R. arborescens      Sweet Azalea        deciduous azalea            yes R. atlanticum       Coastal Azalea      deciduous azalea            yes R. austrinum        Florida Azalea      deciduous azalea            yes R. calendulaceum    Flame Azalea        deciduous azalea            yes R. camtschaticum    Therorhodion        deciduous elepidote rhod.   no R. canadense        Rhodora Azalea      deciduous azalea            difficult R. canescens        Piedmont Azalea     deciduous azalea            yes R. catawbiense      Mountain Rosebay    elepidote rhododendron      yes R. cumberlandense   Cumberland Azalea   deciduous azalea            yes R. eastmanii        May White Azakea    deciduous azalea            no R. flammeum         Oconee Azalea       deciduous azalea            no R. groenlandicum    Labrador Tea,       lepidote rhododendron       no R. lapponicum       Lapland Rosebay     lepidote rhododendron       no R. macrophyllum     Pacific rhod.       elepidote rhododendron      no R. maximum          Great Laurel        elepidote rhododendron      yes

I'm located in southern ny and have been working on a wildlife garden - heavily influenced by natives for a few years now. Most of my plants are used by pollinators - for nectar, or host. and the birds are quite fond of the fruiting shrubs. I have lots of shade, some deer and in one area black walnut trees (note: not all plants listed below are growing with the walnuts). I'll share what has worked for me: small to medium trees - both volunteers here: Celtis occidentalis hackberry Prunus serotina black cherry shrubbery - these were purchased: elderberry (sambucus), lindera - may get a nibble, but not decimated by deer. this year I added some ninebark starts. I've read that deer will nibble on these, but they will come back from it . I am also trying some cornus (red twig dogwood). many say the deer like these - I have some low-tech deterrents in place - branches and such. I am hoping they'll be okay until they get a bit larger. There seems to be some conflicting information online as to deer preference for the cornus - time where tell where my plants fit. I was debating these plants for a while, but figured I'd give 'em a shot this year. A somewhat protected Amelanchier (serviceberry) is doing well. and the deer seem uninterested in my itea - it is planted up close to the house, tho. flowers/perennials all volunteers unless otherwise specified: Since pulling out the garlic mustard in the area, I have a lot of the native annual jewelweed which the deer do enjoy. I mention it because I suspect they may be more interested in this than things they don't find as tasty. I do tend to pull some of this out as the season progresses - but between the deer and myself, there's still some flowering later on. The other annual i welcome (considered weedy to some) is three-seed mercury. deer don't touch this, and it always looks perky. other native volunteers for me that may be considered weedy by some - Circaea (enchanters nightshade), geum white avens, white wood aster, viola, virginia knotweed, and sensitive fern. these are the "rabbits" of my garden they are very assertive and help hold down the fort from garlic mustard and other nasties. of these, the circaea and asters do get a nibble - but the "pruning" makes for a lusher bloom. I also leave a lot of the poke weed that pops up - this too gets nibbled, but will still bloom and fruit. and how can I forget - jack in the pulpit. my solomons seal gets nibbled early in it's growth if unprotected (branches placed around it), but the deer seem to leave it alone when larger. I also have some deer tongue grass in the sunnier locations - deer leave this alone. purchases: milkweed - incarnata, and joepye weed can both take some shade. joe pye gets nibbled a little too, but I get the same results as with the aster - not decimated, just a bushier look. native geranium, celandine poppy, christmas fern, bloodroot, cardinal flower, great blue lobelia, Agastache, and echinacea all seem un touched. vines: wild grape, virginia creeper, and poison ivy I think that about covers it - sorry for being so long-winded, but know what a pain it can be to constantly cross reference shade tolerance and deer resistance lists (I would still recommend checking to see if native to your area). I would suggest also posting in the native plants forum here. I think you'll get a greater response. another suggestion would be wildlifegardeners.org good luck Here is a link that might be useful: natives forum / gardenweb

That could work. I'll share my thought/experience in case it could be of some use to you or anyone else who visits this forum. One option would be to sow seeds in a small raised bed over the winter and then transplant the seedlings as they come up in the spring into the plug trays or directly where you want them to grow. Personally I like to start seeds in a flat or directly in the garden and then move the seedlings to pots as I get more uniform results that way. When starting the seeds in plugs you can end up with a lot of empty cells if the germination rate is low. With flats you can sow hundreds of seeds and only keep the ones you need. I have had a few species where only 1-5% were viable, so if they had been started in cells or pots it would have been a bust. Most grasses can be kept dry in the fridge until ready to plant out in the spring or early summer. For some species germination rates may be a little higher if given cold stratification and some like sweet grass require it. Wrapping them up and putting them in the shed might be problematic if the seeds start germinating early. I start a lot of native seeds indoors in pots for planting out in the spring. I do the stratification on moistened paper towel placed in little clear plastic bags and put those in the crisper. After 60 days or so I check them occasionally for germination. If the seed is really small it can be difficult to get them off the paper towel but it can be done with a spray bottle onto a white plate (so you can see them). This year I had seeds stratifying through late spring and planted some out directly. Some of the species that prefer full sun perform best if sown directly into the garden.