I THINK YOU HAVE THE GENE FOR BECOMING A REAL GARDENER.. AND THE FIRST THING YOU NEED TO STOP DOING.. IS FEARING OR WORRYING ABOUT ANYTHING so my best suggestion ... is simply go to a good local nursery.. not the big boxstore.. and buy a dozen or two... of whatever strikes your fancy.. whatever the budget will allow ... and give them a try ... really.. gardening is not an engineering science.. make and draw plans.. finalize every uncertainty ... in fact.. i find very few gardeners who are engineers ... [the fence and the hardscape.. are those types of things.. but once you get to the plants ... become your inner hippie.. lol] art students.. teachers.. and old hippies.. dont care about all that planning etc ... they just plant what makes them happy.. and usually end up with some of the best gardens.. simply due to lack of fear of trying everything ... the first thing you need to think about.. is the backbone of the garden.. some larger .. long lived plants ... that will be there forever ... trees.. shrubs.. maybe conifers ... [and there is a forum for each] and after you fill those few spaces... then you start thinking about filling in with some semi-long lived perennials ... and then finally.. fill empty spots with annuals ... and if it takes the rest of your life.. just have fun.. some quiet zen moments.. [actually my hard core gardener came out.. when i used to get so PO'd at work.. i would come home and dig large holes.. to work off the stress.. and it didnt take me long to figure out..i could plant things in the holes ... lol .. so then i started going to the nursery at lunch.. to have a reason to go dig more holes ...] but i digress.. lol BUT MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL.. PLEASE DONT WORRY ... and they say you are a true green thumb.. when you have killed every plant.. 3 times .. before you succeed ... its how we learn.. and how we learn to push the envelop .. and it does not bother us in the slightest if it dies.. or we fail ... [well that $250 tree did bother me.. lol] .. and if something dies.. its another lunch trip to buy another.. and try something else ... and dig a new hole ... good luck.. come back often.. we like to enable newbies ... ken ps: i will repeat.. even your shade.. is EXTREMELY BRIGHT ... and you will be able to grow 90% of the full sun plants to specification, all of the part shade plants.. and even shade plants there] ... do not let your shade.. limit you in choosing what might not fit there.. if it pleases you.. buy it.. insert.. roots down.. and water.. and see what happens.. if you blow 5 bucks.. who cares.. but if it lives.. you will have hours of joy ... DO NOT WORRY ABOUT IT ... and commit to memory.. that MOST shade plants.. are ONLY shade tolerant.. and do better in part sun.. or even full sun ... presuming they are zone appropriate for north FL ... the short version of that is: buy what makes your toes tingle.. instead of choosing something OK to fit in a given space ... odds are.. it will live.. with just the minimum of aftercare ...

I think you would be fine with hydrangeas there. If salvias are too floppy, try some veronicas or agastaches. You might even be able to grow baptista (false indigo). I have a similar exposure in my zone 5 Iowa yard. Trees along one side, and then it slopes too, so it is a bit of an odd long bed. It used to be grass and mostly invasive Asian honesuckle shrubs. I have only been gardening at this house for 1 1/2 years, so I am still experimenting; plus I am new to this zone and previously lived in zone 9. I first considered this area part shade and planted accordingly. Now I see there are pockets of more and less sun. In this area the plants doing best are: Hostas--This surprised me, but I see them in full sun around town now that I have started looking. Not sure if it is the same for zone 6. Foam flower--this looks GREAT right now with tidy foliage and is still blooming. I had some red tulips behind the foam flower and they looked lovely. Columbines--flowering nicely with airy foliage. Agastache--the one I have has short white flowers, but blues are common I think. Overwintered and re-sowed abundantly. My soil drains well so may be why they like it there. Garden phlox--were small plants last year from Bluestone spring sale. SO far they are growing nicely but will see if they flop. Today the whole area seemed to be in so much sun! Daylillies--will see how they do this year Foxglove--sowed last summer, getting ready to bloom, seems to be good for them in this spot. Monarda, bloomed last summer and no flopping. Soloman's seal--in a shadier pocket, but still gets some afternoon sun. Doing really well right now. helleborus--one little helleborus which has been doing great so far this spring, to my surprise. When I realized how sunny the spot was, I thought I'd move this little plant, but it is doign well. Toad lily--these are growing nicely and had attractive late flowers last year. Lobelia--there are some nice blue lobelias available. low growing veronicas--doing very well and blooming profusely. Happy planting. :)

I find my two camelias are quite hardy - and will take some sun (if not too hot). The foliage is always beautiful and blossoms a plus. The vinca is Ok - but very, very invasive after a few years, and builds up a thick thatch that must be cleared. Although good for problem spots. Fortnight lily is hardy in zone 9 and 10 and well-behaved. Tam junipers (any size) - and well-behaved, tho slow growing. I'd stay away from gardenia - unless you want a challenge. They seem to like more heat in the cooler zones, but are tempermental in my opinion. Mine wouldn't grow well - until I decided to neglect it! Just my 2 c's. Bejay

Consider a fig tree. They can take a lot of heat. For that narrow space a Black Jack (dwarf black fig) might work well. Pomegrantes also take ferocious heat in stride; there is a middling-to-small size called Chico (don't get a "dwarf" pomegranate because that is a knee-high non-fruiting shrub). Consider very large terracotta pots filled with palm/cactus soil for herbs. Most kinds of herbs will flourish (except basil wants richer soil). If you just want an ornamental tree, try mediterranean fan palm. They take years to mature at about 12-15 feet, and even then they stay in bounds. For tree mulch try cobblestones or a thick bed of river stones. These let water through, keep soil cool, and are not easily dug through by animals. The downsides to stone mulch are: no soil enrichment through decay, and the only way to get litter out is with an annoying leaf-blower, for which your neighbors will resent you. Good luck finding the right plants. It is a pretty space.