Plantings under trees

Eric. I would suggest you try out low growing “shrubs” or ground cover type plants. As others had mentioned, honeyberry , currant, gooseberry and lingonberry are some I’ve considered.

You could consider Salal berries as a native option, or check out Aronia, Goji, certain Blueberry (some don’t need highly acidic soil), strawberry, or one that I am very excited to plant, box huckleberry. There are a few other huckleberry species out there like Himalayan Blueberry that I’ve researched as evergreen options. You could even look at Oregon grapes or strawberry bushes (I can’t due to my zone).

My thread here may be helpful to you BRING ME A SHRUBBERY! (zone 6A)