Watch new thread with same general question at useful link.

Woodland plants I think of things like violets, mayapples, trillium, jack-in-the-pulpit, lady slipper (might be endangered and expensive but I've seen them for sale).

Also violas and someone mentioned brunnera on other thread. Also the spring blooming forget-me-nots are easy and self sow. I just WS'ed a pack of pink, white, and blue today, have other blue ones going in the garden.

Don't forget bleeding heart, think it's at least part shade but seen it grown in almost full sun. Also the many varieties of columbine, got that idea on the other thread.

Also I think maybe Siberian Iris.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ideas for Shade Seeds

I'm a newbie at winter sowing, but I've found several types of seeds for woodland plants at Prairie Moon Nursery. I've been really happy with their company so far, but since I'm a newbie WS'er and it's still too cold for anything to sprout yet in my zone, not sure how well my seeds will germinate yet.

Prairie Moon doesn't have Cornus canadensis, but they do have other woodland native seeds such as Jack-in-the-pulpit, Tall Bellflower, Wild Geranium, White Trillium, Meadow Rue, and Bellwort. They also carry Celandine Poppy and Dutchman's Breeches but those are out of stock right now.

topie--just checked praire moon and I'm excited--looks like what I'm looking for. Tx for tip.

try Gardens North they're out of Canada but ship to the U.S. and do currently have Cornus canadensis in stock. I was most pleased with my order this last spring.

Whatever you choose, they're always enhanced by a redbud or two in the spring.

Also might try scillas or Siberian squill? I've seen them naturalized in the spring both in woody areas and planted on walls in more sun. They seem to multiply fast in the right conditions even to the point of being invasive where I saw them.

They've not done too well for me, think I shouldn't have tried to naturalize them in the lawn and I don't mow and was waiting for the foliage to die back, and they got mowed too soon.

Tx for suggestions. Will check out Gardens North. Aliska, I love redbuds, but some ? of whether they blossom in Maine--definitely grow and thrive, but blossom? Magnolias are good and crabapples. Have ordered some edge of woods baby trees from Fedco--pagoda dogwood, witch hazel, stewartia, seven son flower, fringe tree. Will have a bit more sun when DH takes down some tall trees--then I'll begin creating somemore shade as gardeners do. Have started sticking bulbs around edge of woods--virginia bluebells and fritillaria meleagris. They'll surprise me. Don't know where I poked them all.

merryrose, Aliska, I love redbuds, but some ? of whether they blossom in Maine--definitely grow and thrive, but blossom?

I can't promise but you're in my zone. They're called Eastern Redbuds, must be for a reason. There's a lot of info and photos on the web.

Your wooded area sounds wonderful! Here's one down the alley, I think I picked those very seeds the next day, dried them, husked them (easier than I'd feared), planted them, and many sprouted but I lost them the following winter when I didn't plunge the bottles into the ground. May try some more this spring. I'd like to get some on the boulevard on my street but don't know if the city would like it. It should be a suitable tree for that unless it hangs over the street and needs trimmed. I see somebody set something out there and put a wire cage around it.

We did a block project to plant that boulevard many years ago. Life was so frantic then I didn't feel I could physically help but contributed a lousy 10 bucks, went further then. Now some trees have grown very tall and we've lost others. Most on the block but one or two have long since moved away or died. The next street north of me is similar, and theirs is planted better, shadier, and one neighbor looks like he's planted all sorts of things along with whatever trees are there.

That first one wasn't the photo I had in mind. It's nice, too, forgot I had it so will put both in there. They're sure not red though, mostly pinkist purple.

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Aliska==beautiful redbuds! I got my info from Fedco catalogue--they were asking if anyone knew of redbuds reliably flowering in Maine. I'll do more research on that one.