I would plant natives to VA. They will take care of them selves once established and a lot of it can be planted by seed. I did a quick search and found that you have a lot of resources in your state. There is a Virgina Native Plant Society http://www.vnps.org/wildflowerofyear.html

The search words I used was: native plants virginia.

I agree - you can't go wrong with long-lived native trees.

You already have great advice. One suggestion, ornamental grass is low maintenance and some are available from seed. That might be fun to see each year.

I would e-mail Bakemom on this site. Tell her about your project and ask for a newbie pack of seeds. YOu could even give her a list of VA natives. If you want to wait until a year from now, e-mail me and I will send you easy, native seeds like coneflower, blackeye susan, and coreopsis. You could make a wildflower garden.

YOur plan reminds me of the UK. I was in Scotland this summer for work. I travelled a lot by train. In Scotland, in particular, the plant life along the railroad tracks was stunning. There were rhodies, roses, foxglove, among other wonderful flowers.

Hello shesaysgo! What a delightful project you are embarking on!

I've got some New England Aster seed that I collected from the asters in my yard last year; would you like some? It's native to Virginia as well as New England, and it has purple flowers in the autumn. I have no idea how many are likely to germinate, but if you scatter them about, you might get lucky.

E-mail me with a mailing adress if you'd like them. I would love to see them go towards beautifying such a space!

Here is a link that might be useful: my e-mail address is on my website

I should have looked at the date of the original post. Silly me. Well, if you are still gardening on your railroad plot, my offer still stands. :)