I'm inclined to believe your Japanese Maple might be OK, though I've never had one in complete shade (nor am I an expert in JM's). In your spot, could it concievably "grow out of" the shade? Hydrangea or Camellia might work for you. Fatsia or Aucuba are some others, off the top of my head.

If you'd like perennials, there are many different choices. Variegated plants are swell in the shade and sort of twinkle even when there's no flower. Variegated pachysandra, variegated Brunnera, and Hakonechloe m. 'Aureola' are a nice start. Heronswood Nursery has a number of new perennials for the shade. I've tried Anenomopsis with very good luck. Probably the best thing for you to do is Google shade plants and then ask people if they've had any luck with a specific plant. There are an awful lot of possibilities. Karl

It does sound like a great project. I love por*ches! You're right to try to add some fragrance. I'm not sure you are going to find a vine that will give you blooms and fragrance in only dappled sun all day. I am constantly trying to add fragrance and I've haven't had much luck in shady areas. I tried a small cutting of SAC and it took three years in my sunnier than yours location to get five feet high then the very next year, I looked over one day and noticed not one leaf on it. I found some kind of caterpillar on it that stripped it of every leaf and it never came back. So I can't attest to it's aggressiveness. [g] While you are looking for a fragrant vine, you might consider pots of Four OClocks on your porch. They open at night and have a nice fragrance that is stronger on hot evenings. They might do fine in your shady conditions. I've had them bloom in shady spots. I also tried C*lematis m. 'Mayleen' from Bluestone last fall and it hasn't come back. No, I haven't had experience with Castle Wall or Spire. I like the darker green so I have two 'Green Mountain' that I really enjoy. It is supposed to get to about 5ft tall and might be easily shaped into a pyramid. You would have to trim them occasionally anyway, so it's not like it would be more work. GM came through the winter great last year. I've only had them two years. Bought them small at Bluestone and I like them. I would ask about the r*oses over on the rose forum and you will need to actually time the amount of sun to determine whether you have enough for a rose. Sometimes we can all kid ourselves that we have enough sun because we want a particular plant so much. :-) I am experimenting with two r*oses in an area that only gets about 4 hours of sun. I was cautioned on the r*ose forum that I may not get good bloom there. So I found two r*oses that are described as tolerating some shade and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. But I think 4 hours of sun is a minimum for a r*ose. But I'm no expert. Even if a r*ose blooms in less sun, it might not be the amount of bloom you are hoping for. Fragrant hostas are a great idea. I had 'Guacamole' for 4 years and it didn't come back this spring, which really surprised me. I'm still looking for it through May because I seem to remember it was late to come up, although all my other hostas are up. It is very fragrant and has nice large blooms. I'm sure there are lots of others. My Clethra lost most of it's top growth this winter. It is a great shrub so I hope I haven't lost it entirely. There is a post about that somewhere, others have had trouble with Clethras last winter. Endless Summer might be the Hydrangea you are trying to figure out. I would go with that one because it blooms on old and new wood. I also know people who grow Nikko and swear by it's hardiness.

Have you looked around at photos or actual gardens of thin beds to see what you like. I would keep the plants low near the ends and in front of the windows. One can put in a lattice for vines to climb on where the wall is. I was always one of those who just plunk them in and redo as I go. Maybe leave some as a annual areas, and for bulbs that you replace every year. Go to nurseries and see what you like. Take a walk in a botanical park and hang in the shade areas and take notes. I don't like talking design because , it is a vague area and I don't know your likes and dislikes. Magazines are a good source and there are some books on garden design in the library. Ask yourself, do you want it to be low , seen as a single mass, or do you want it to be devided up into spaces with different levels and textures. Then ask if you want the same, are you looking for interesting foliage that will be of interest all year long. One can leave small spaces to put in annual color . If you go to the different mass look . Look at your wall and start dividing, and then sit down and think of different times of the year and different bloom time and such. Gardening is very much about the passage of time. It is all about finding out what YOU want from it. Don't worry, there are infinite number of do overs. It is a learning process. One can look for something simple like ajuga repens and columbine (bloom together in spring blue and yellow), or cast iron plant and then start putting things in as you discover them. Some people say do a low plant for most of it and then some tall thin plants to break the horizontality. The low plant you need to be aware of them getting into the walk way. some people are more OCD about this than me. Wet plants after a rain will bend over. I don't care but my realtor that sold my house had me rip out a whole bunch of plants. PISSED me off royally.