Choose what plants you want, and draw out a map of your garden. Place which plants you want to go where.
I'd suggest some phlox, bloodflower, toothwort, and some trout lilies.

It's me again. Sorry.... I should have suggested that you put this under a different subject line. Something like "Making my woods into a woodland garden". Much more likely to have people check into your question. And try adding that first picture you have in the gallery to the post itself.

Anyways, I've had a bit more time to look at the pictures tonight. Where are you located, roughly? That can help with plant suggestions.

In terms of where to start, figuring the way you want paths to run is a good start. Plan out pleasant meandering paths to walk. And then take your time thinking about the kind of "feel" you want various areas of your walking paths to have. What you have is a lovely place, and it's a good idea to work *with* what you have, and add to it and shape it.

Looks like the pictures were taken this spring. Have you lived there through some seasons, or are you new to the place? If it is newish for you, you will want to see what else is there in following seasons before you make any drastic changes. Take things slowish. Add plants, but check them out to make sure they aren't invasive. Chuck out things you don't like, but don't really clear areas until you know what might be there in summer and fall.... You get the idea.

Let us know roughly where you are. Might have some suggestions on plants that would work as options.

ninecats, I have a little area of trees located along the side of my house that I have put a mini -woodlands shade garden. It receives some dappled sunlight after the leaves of the trees have filled in but stays fairly shady. I have stepping stones that my grandkids love to follow around and they look and see whats growing.The trilliums are just finishing off, as well as the trout lily's, my ferns are starting to uncurl and Jack in the pulpits are shooting up as well as Mayapples.I dont have as many trees as in your pictures, as I thinned them out. There were to many of them and they were located just about right on top of each other. They were real skinny and tall ,fighting each other for light. If your interested I would be glad to send you a few pictures via E-mail or look at my photobucket pictures...Tom

I can't find your photo reference but I will tell you my story. 7 years ago be bought a house on a 2 acre lot. The house and yard are no bigger than a normal lot. The rest was woods. The brush, saplings, etc. ran right up to the lawn. It was so dense we had no breezes that summer. The bugs about carried us away. I began my quest for a breeze and debugging. We took a weed wacker with a saw attachement, and a power saw to every tree that was not as thick as my husbands arm from the lawn line back about 20 feet into the woods. Burr Oaks are the most common. Quaking Aspen are my favorite. We cut all branches up to 10 feet above our heads. I dug out weeds, brambles, stumps. I scoured the woods for plants I liked, Jack-in the pulpits, Solomen seal, violets, and others. I brought them forward and planted them where I could see them. I have hundreds of each. I worked at a green house for plants. I now have a collection of hosta and fern types. I have at least one of every shade plant that will grow in zone 4. My gardens extend around the entire house 10 feet deep. There is another 5-10 feet we keep clear just to delineate garden from wild. For interest I read the junk garden site and have made some of their bowling balls, lots and lots of bird houses and stepping stones. I am done expanding. Now I spend my days dividing and re-arranging so everyone is happy. I give away many many divisions and I think of having a sale with all my extra, but that sounds like a lot of work. Take it one day at a time. Quit when you are tired and before you know it you will be surrounded!!
I am in Mn so I do not have a long growing season. Happy gardening!!!

My advice for what it is worth is to take inventory of what you have over all the seasons. Then you can decide what to keep and what to get rid of. This also helps in order to decide where to place paths so as to get to most of it. Knowing exactly what you have also helps in deciding where to go with it. I suggest enhancing what you have and not trying to redo the whole area.

Ziggy