Hi Glenn,

The two that come to mind for me are Ajuga or Vinca. This is a tough area to plant in. Both are quick growers, evergreen, look nice and dont require much maintenance. I have Chocolate Chip Ajuga, fills in pretty thick. If you go with Vinca, choose the small leaf variety.

Jen

Hi Glenn

I am only about a 1/2 hour from you so our zones are similar. I have periwinkle(vinca) planted in our woods, and it does well. Pachysandra does well too. Longwood Gardens has massive areas planted with pachysandra in shade. I have it in along the north side of my house, and it does all right, though better around the corner wherer it gets a little more light. High shade from your trees would give it more light than the north side of my house.
Leaves seem to disappear into both the periwinkle and pachysandra. I don't even blow it. They seem to work their way down into it and become mulch for the next year.

Sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum) might be another option. I've never grown it, but our local herb farm has a couple of beds of it. Very pretty plant.

How about our native allegheny spurge, Pachysandra procumbens? DO NOT use a leaf blower to remove leaves from whatever gc you use. They will form a mulch and help the gc cover root and spread.

I use our native ginger, Asarum canadense, as a ground cover for difficult areas. Large heart-shaped leaves, about 6" tall, slowly spreading, it's a great plant for a shade ground cover. I find Vinca much too invasive, difficult to control. The native Pachysandra is also a good alternative, although it does take some time to get established.
Louise

Hi, glenn gardener,
I second the notion of sweet woodruff. It loves shade, has a really cool textury shape to its foliage, and has sweet white blossoms in the spring. I can't say enough about this ground cover b/c it's so pleasant looking.

Sweet woodruff (Galium) is an aggressive spreader and you will find it invading the root system of other plants in the area. Not necessarily a problem if the other plants are large enough so the galium doesn't overwhelm them. It is also a herbaceous groundcover, dying back to the roots in winter. That could make the leaf blowing easier :-)

There are sedum that do well in the shade and do not strangle other plants. As noted above, ajuga can do well along with verbena. Suggestion, try planting hakone -- it's not evergreen but is a great contrast to other plants and can provide some structure to your shade garden in the warm months. Good luck.