You could grow Bluebells, Wood Anenomes, Thrift, Dwarf Daisies and Blue and White Crocus.

foxgloves,cowslips bugle, there are lots, we could go on and on.

She is asking for blue/white.

Planting bulbs will not guarantee the colour, you may end up with lilacs and purples, yellowy whites also other colours. Also if you restrict to blue and white you do not strictly have a woodland scene? Snowdrops, Cowslips, Bluebells, Anemones and Tulips are some in my woodland area so that the flowers keep on coming one after the other.

Anemone blanda comes in blue and white, several Anemones including A. sylvestris, bluebells and snowdrops of course, Convallaria majus (Llly of the Valley), then various hardy geraniums which you can find in blue and white - G. maccrorhizum grows well in shade, and there is a white form, my G. 'Beth Chatto' does as well - she is a lovely blue. Geranium phaeum 'Laura' - a lovely double white one.

Other blue bulbs - Puschkinia, Scilla, (blue and white). Muscari, (beware of invasive forms!) Chionodoxa (also blue and white).

As you are starting out I could send you some Sisyrinchium and Hellebores if you would be interested.

Pulmonaria is good in shade. Remember to enrich the planting holes to give the plants a good start, and don't forget to water it for the whole of the first year (once the snow has melted!!).

Ithink she was surjesting blue and white because she wants to lighton the shade ,my surjestions would do that.

The best and clearest blue Pulmonaria is 'Blue Ensign' and there's a white one called 'Sissinghurst White'.

Oh - how about Omphalodes cappadocica - I have 'Cherry Ingram' and 'Starry Eyes', both blue, and shade lovers - and O. verna, also a shade lover and blue. I love them!

then there are the ajugas, smilacene, polygonatum [solomons seal],
dont forget ferns and hostas too.

i have planted under and around an old beech tree. you are welcome to look on my plant profile if it helps.

and welcome to GoY too.

Thanks for all the suggestions - it sounds like there's lots I can do with the area as I was puzzling about it for ages! I'll look all the names up I don't recognise and see where I can get them.

Doctor Bob, your offer of Sisyrinchium and Hellebores would be most welcome. I've been looking for a Leeds based gardening society that I can join to swap ideas and plants etc, although my garden is pretty much just grass with some hydranga at the moment, so it might take a while before I can return the favour!

have you looked up the Hardy plant society. they have regional groups. I belong to the east yorks one and we meet in Beverely. perhaps too far for you to come. but we do a plant sales table most meetings. google them and then look at the local groups.