i live in southwest va and i want to know what kind of flowers or plants i can plant now that will last throughout the winter. i know mums but what else?

Mums are overused!
Are you looking for annual plantings or perennial plants?

If you are thinking annual color: Pansies, violas, snapdragons, 'flowering' cabbage/ kale, wall flower, dusty miller, dianthus are all cooler season tolerant.

If on the other hand you're looking for perennial ideas:
Sedum 'Autumn Joy', 'Neon', 'Autumn Fire' and 'Brilliant' are all good, Asters, leadwort (Ceratostigma) and toadlily (Tricyrtis) are good for fall too. Add a little color and texture with ornamental grasses (I really like Miscanthus sinensis 'Purpurascens') and blue star (Amsonia) for it's fall color.

I hope that this helps

First, find your zone: http://www.growit.com/bin/USDAZoneMaps.exe?MyState=VA ... I think you are in Zone 6, a or b... can't really tell.

So from there, you know that you can search for plants/flowers/shrubs that are hardy to your zone. You're right...Mums will work, but I agree with you that they are over-used.

Try these:
Groundcovers - http://www.seedman.com/gcover.htm
Flowers -
http://www.seedman.com/Flowerp.htm


Happy Gardening!