http://www.npsnj.org/references.htm The Native Plant Society of NJ!

Some good points for any newcomers reading. Perhaps the best thing about woodland preservation is the benefit to the environment. As for traditional "gardening" as you describe, woodland management takes a very different spin, encouraging a natural ecosystem rather than forcing an artificial arrangement of color and texture to please a human eye. For example, leaf litter, as you point out, is seen as a nuisance by most people. But it's one of nature's most important components. It's difficult to have a healthy ecosystem in the long run without it. It naturally protects and replenishes the soil so things can grow there forever, it protects tree roots from heat, it maximizes moisture for roots and defends against soil erosion, it hosts beneficial bacteria, it provides a home for insects which are critical to the ecosystem, and it forms the incubator where new generations of flora begin. Another aspect of woodlands that many people don't like is underbrush or understory. A lot of property owners and landscapers immediately look to clear this out, creating a park-like look where people can stroll in any direction under the shade of canopy trees. The problem with this is that the understory is also a critical component of any healthy ecosystem. The understory contains not only shrubs that provide homes and food for wildlife, but the next generations of canopy trees. If the understory is continually removed, it's only a matter of time before the forest loses its last tree and is gone. For all you folks who are preserving and restoring woodlands on your properties, I salute you for doing something good for all of us and nature's creatures!

There are many toxic plants - surely there are some already around you so if you want a toxic-free world, that bird has already flown! ;) When my own kids were small, they never were left unattended outside so no toxic plant worries. As they got older, I showed them toxic plants (such as bittersweet nightshade) that grew every where with very attractive looking berries. I taught them how to identify it and how if they ate the berries they would get sick. It was the perfect teaching plant for plant safety. I knew I could not always be at their side and I could not make the world toxic plant free so I taught them how to be smart and safe with plants. That said, I would suggest you look up what plants you are interested in. If something is highly poisonous (ex: monkshood, poison hemlock, castor bean, etc.), avoid it completely. Google makes this a trivial thing to do. FataMorgana

I have these in my garden. They are not woodland plants but prairie plants. You said they are in full sun and the more the better for them. They are slower taking off in the spring but once we start getting hotter early summer days they take off like a rocket, so I hope yours do the same. Keep and eye out on the Ox-eye. They can take over once they get going.