Input please! Looking for Planting Suggestions

Well, it's a large topic. I'm in the process of trying to do this in my yard. I'm taking an on-line class with the Native Plant Trust which includes Garden in the Woods in Framingham. (Nativeplanttrust.org). they are a tremendous resource for you. They have a site called Go Botany which also helps identify p[lants and on both sites are helpful articles. I have some basic suggestions. First, it's best to have a sense of the area in terms of hours of sunlight/day, water drainage, soil. the best thing is to get the soil tested. right now, the soil labs are closed due to the pandemic. for now, you can just look at and feel the soil - is it sandy/rocky, a little slimey and sticking together (which could be a lot of clay and therefore not great water drainage), or loamy (dark, smells like earth, crumbles). if the previous owners had planted it, it probably is this third type. This helps you start to figure out if you need to prep the soil. once you have a sense of the answer to these question, it's easier to figure out the type of plant you are looking for. a local nursery will probably divide the plants into sections (shade loving, sun loving, etc) and may have native plant labels. inaturalist can help you find out if plants are native by looking at flowers you see, identifying them and looking them up. for example if the site is sunny with ok soil, you could plant cone flowers and milkweed and maybe a native groundcover. I've been doing what you're doing by trial and error. for a small project, it's good enough and fun. Good luck!