I'm not a professional. Here are a few thoughts. I've had to deal with a lot of weeds.
1. Kill the weeds. Use chemicals and spray on. Lots of people here don't like chemicals and I understand that. It's not for everyone. You've got a 'hot mess', not just a few dandelions here and there.
2. Do some research. Which plants are native that you like that won't grow out of control? You're basically looking for a perennial shade garden in zone 6.
{{gwi:35347}}

Think of your 'yard' as a choir standing up to sing. Put tall in the back (like milkweed). Also in those sunny areas you can utilize more sun-loving plants. The entire choir doesn't sing at once. Think of your beds as the 'soprano section' of daylilies and the tenor section of yarrow. In your area the hostas grow very large. They like the shade and they are beautiful.
This will still take a lot of money and a lot of work. I'd start with one section at a time or one project at a time. Don't launch into it like you're going to do it in one afternoon.
Also the plants you can buy will need attention. They'll need watered and loving. You'll have to keep the weeds down. Keep in mind the long term goal in 5 to 7 years when the plants mature.
You can also put in some faster growing plants like perennial sunflower that grow 4' tall and look like a 4' bouquet of flowers with yellow tops. Then in the future if you tire of those or your more exotic plants grow up, you can yank those out. Some people like this, others don't.
What a beautiful place. I can just imagine Goldilocks skipping down your curving path to knock on your door after she smells your flowers!
Heidi

Why do you feel the need to do anything? If you wanted a manicured lawn with standard 'curb appeal', you should have bought that. What you have is a 'feral' landscape, which will revert to what you had fairly soon if left alone.

If you want a more gardenesque appearance, it certainly can be done. However, it is going to require a lot of maintenance (weeding) forever. And personally, I don't see the point. Different local gardening cultures have their own views. Around Philadephia, it is certainly a valid position to let the wild take over from the POV from the street, and have the landscaping done from the POV of the house, or at least the point on the driveway where the house becomes visible.

The most important part of owning a wooded lot is to find a good arborist. You'll want someone coming in regularly (every year, or every other year) to make sure nothing large is likely to come down on the house. When we lived in that area, the idea was that you would spend about as much annually on an arborist as you would spend on a mow and blow guy if you had a yard. Depending on the other plantings, that phone call may be a high percentage of the normal maintenance.

You can have so much fun with beautiful native plants there--ferns, spring ephemerals, spring blooming bushes--all of which take care of the animals that live there--birds, bees, butterflies...

It might be a good idea to find what's a native colonizer--even ones that are aggressive so that they will take over quickly.

Might be worth consulting with a landscaper who has experience in such things and paying for the design/plant suggestions, and doing it yourself a little at a time.

I like the walkway idea, so if you put that in, you can focus on the areas on either side of the the walk, and that way it's not too overwhelming if you're doing it yourself.

The link is to Lady Bird Johnson's Wildflower Center. You can put in your requiremements (sun, soil moisture) and state, and a list of suggested plants will come up.

Your spot is just so beautiful and seems to call out for a restored landscape full of wonderful, graceful plants that will help out the wildlife.

I can understand how you would feel overwhelmed (have felt that way too), so I always just take small steps.

Your home is beautiful, and that light is to die for!

Here is a link that might be useful: Database

The single picture doesn't give an idea of how much property you are being called on to care for so please indicate the total amount. Your strategy would be different if you're reigning in five acres or 1/2 acre. While planting some perennials in strategic locations could be nice, it should be limited until you see if living that kind of lifestyle is for you. It takes work and time. Nearest to the house would be the best place to start with that. I think the easiest care, best looking landscape that this could turn into is one in which the forest canopy is cleaned up. ... which means trim all the scruffy branches off of trees so that the trunks look clean and open and limb them up so that a view is maintained within the yard itself. Remove the scrawny saplings, shrubs and weeds. For the time being, kill the weeds with herbicide and mulch heavy with free mulch from the tree trimming companies. (Surely, there is tree trimming going on in the vicinity ...?!) (Invest in a backpack type sprayer as a carry type sprayer is not at all practical for a large property. You'll need good cutting tools (loppers, pruners, saw, etc.) Flimsy ones will not work well or last long. Mulch is good on a temporary basis, but a groundcover capable of large scale coverage is the best long term solution. Forget about the huge quotes. You can clean it up and get it under control for a few hundred dollars if you put it into low gear, be practical about it and persist. It is very easy to rid a property of poison ivy so you shouldn't let fear of it get in your way.

Also, observe how others with large wooded lots are managing control of their properties. See what they're using for large scale groundcovers. Look especially at nice homes in the best neighborhoods.

my first thought? "Wow, it's pretty!" haha!

We don't see green like that where I am, so I'm sure that's influencing me. You don't want poison ivy there, though, I'm sure.