I would suggest Periwinkle, Forget-me-nots, Yellow Archangel, Lily-of-the-Valley and Coleus. In your area you might also do well with Calladiums.
Happy Gardening
George

I have been reading the Florida forum off and on for a couple of years. I would ask this question there just because they talk about plants for Florida that most of us have never grown or heard of. They seem like a great group of people too. You could also try Floridata.

I'll give you a few shade bloomers, but I don't know how any of them will do in Florida.
Astilbe - early summer - needs moist shade
brunnera - spring - might not take your heat, don't know
Solomon's seal - again don't know about the heat
hellebores orientalis - winter - you might have too much shade
strawberry begonia - late spring
cyclamen - either fall or winter
chelone - early fall - you might have too much shade
anemone - early fall
columbine - early spring

Check these out with the Florida people and see if they'll flourish in your area. Good luck.

Hmm...I've always grown Periwinkle in the sun, even in the west sun when living in Texas. My begonias were in the sun here in PA Z6 as well.

I live in Central Florida but have lived further north. Try Polka dot plants (Hypothosis or something simiiar. They are great and reseed themselves here. Coleus and Caladiums as mentioned before. Impatiens and begonias are good, Crossandra is another that I recently put in.

I have varigated Soloman's Seal in my TEXAS flower bed. It has grown like crazy and multiplied nicely even during our 100 degree weather and drought.

I also have impatiens and begonias. The impatiens are beautiful in the spring and fall. During the summer tho, they start to look ragged. The begonias look great all season and take much less water. Some of mine have even returned in the spring!!

Another plant that I have and love is Autumn Fern. It is evergreen and you'll know why it's called Autumn Fern when you see the new fiddle heads unfurl in the spring. Also, it's drought tolerant once its established.

Hi Lathgirl-
You may have gotten all the answers you need, but here is some additional Florida-centric help: Deep shade is very difficult to have anything blooming well. The only thing I can think of is Clivia. It will be tender during your (rare) winter frosts, but should be safe with an evergreen or a roof overhang above. I would mix ferns with variegated plants. Christmas ferns would be good. Variegated Aspidistra would bring in a splash of white, and Variegated Ginger would bring in vertical stripes of bright yellow. One other thing that would work well are bromeliads. If they like where you put them they will continue making pups as the old ones always decline following their bloom. Before long you will have a nice-looking patch of them. Again, many will need a permanent overhead canopy of some type to survive your worst frosts.

Part of my garden is north facing behind a low walland is always damp. Astile and ferns grow well.Any ideas on what plants i could use apart from hosta
Happy garderning Mike