The common name "mountain laurel" is confusing in that kalmia is native to the mountains, the Piedmont, and the Coastal Plain of the Southeast. In South Carolina, for example, there is Kalmia Gardens, named for the indigenous kalmia, in the City of Hartsville, which is on the coastal plain. We have several mountain laurels in our yard, collected in the South Carolina mountains, growing under a pine canopy. I think mountain laurel will also perform well in full sun. If you are able to find a source of the unnamed native species, I think you will find it much prettier than the named cultivars available at nurseries. To me, there is something a little garish about the named mountain laurel cultivars. The generic native mountain laurel possesses a subtle beauty that has been bred out of the named cultivars. A word of caution: It's a good idea to keep your livestock, i.e., cows, goats, sheep, etc., and children, away from mountain laurel because it has the reputation of being deadly if ingested. Mountain laurel may be a little less lethal than oleander, but I'm not sure about that. (Remember the road crew down at Brunswick, GA, who burned a pile of oleander, inhaled fumes from the bonfire, and keeled over dead a few years ago?)

Hostas and ferns will be okay on the north side against the foundation. I have Azaleas planted against my foundation on the north side, and Hostas actually in my Southern exposure, which has mature trees to the East, South, and West of me, so not a lot of direct sunlight, some filtered, and some pretty dark shade. Another good shrub that gets large, but you can get smaller versions if you want, is Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). I recommend it to everyone in Oklahoma because it does so well here compared to other Hydrangeas. The leaves are very large, oakleaf shape as name indicates, huge conical white blooms in mid to late spring, that gently turn to a pink shade. The foliage turns red in the fall, and the winter branches are interesting, too, because they peel to a rusty red shade. It is pretty much an all around outstanding plant for Oklahoma. Doesn't require as much water as the other Hydrangeas either, once it is established. I planted it the first summer I lived in my house in 1999, and I have never regreted it. Some say it is slow to establish, but mine grew very quickly. Maybe because I purchased it in a 5-gallon container so it was pretty good size to begin with. It can grow to about 7' tall by 9' wide in fabulous conditions, but will generally run about 7' side and 5' tall. You can place some medium size hostas in front of it, perhaps variegated to add some interest, and small hostas and ferns in front of them. Japanese Painted fern is very pretty. I grow a few Hostas, 'Sum and Substance' which is a monster and has lime green foliage with leaves up to 18-24" long. It can take more light than the Blue Hostas and variegated hostas. Anything with the bolder lime green colors can generally tolerate more light. I also have 'Blue Angel' which is also a monster with powdery blue foliage. The leaves aren't as big as S&S but the plant itself gets huge. Give this one a pretty shady place as with all blues. There are hundreds and hundreds of Hostas available. Check out Plant Delight Nursery which has a nice selection, just to give yourself an idea of different textures, sizes, and colors. I don't really grow ferns except for the Holly fern which has done so well for me for about 10 years also. Doesn't need as much water. Hellebores, Epimediums, variegated Solomon's Seal, Jack in the Pulpits, Campanulas, Meadow Rues, Heucheras, Tiarellas, Toad Lilies, some Clematis, some lilies, will all do well in part shade. The only problem with shade around a lot of homes is tree roots. Hard to dig and prepare soil - amend, amend, amend with compost, chicken or cow manure, etc. But, the roots will eventually grow back. The plants I've mentioned will likely co-exist just fine with some tree roots. Your Elephant Ears will take some sun very nicely. More than a lot of folks think. They are Colocasias in the Aroid family. A better bet is Alocasias which look very similar but have a more upright habit, sold in many of the nurseries as Upright Elephant Ear. The foliage is a bit shinier, and they get every bit as big without needing as much water. Generally speaking, in a southern exposure you will get more sun, in the West you will get a good amount of sun along with heat. The north and east sides offer more protection from our relentless summer suns. However, that can change with things such as how large your trees are, how much shade they cast, the closer you plant to your house will afford more shade. Dawn suggests that you have your soil tested to see how much you need and what your soil needs, Consider mulching your plants, too. Fertilizers? I'm a lazy gardener so I use Espoma fertilizer products which you can just add at planting time or sprinkle on top in the spring. Some needs to be added monthly and some will last 2 or 3 months. If you want to add some butterfly and hummingbird attracting plants, let me know, What fun! You have pretty much a blank slate to work with. And.....welcome to the forum! Susan Here is a link that might be useful: Oakleaf Hydrangea

ended up getting a good deal on boxwoods and planted those. those $2 ebay flats would take forever to grow and look like a hedge. And a 2 ft border of vinca minor sorry I don't see a way to quote or even italicize your post, so I'll just reply in ALL CAPS. - Here (not sure about your location) one needs to think about where and how snow will be removed. Plants lining the drive can be in the way of snow removal or can be damaged by removal of wet, heavy snow. ALREADY THOUGHT OF ALL THIS. THE DRIVEWAY recently HAD A RAISED STONE /brick BORDER INSTALLED about 6" tall. snowblower will feel that and not go into lawn/vinca. especially a single stage blower with soft rubber paddle vs a dual stage with metal auger can damage brick if not careful if didn't actualyl know it was there though. it's actually better IMO to have vinca there if there were no raised brick border because if some were chewed up by a snowblower, it'll just grow right back in spring vs turfgrass might need to be RESEEDED if crown is damaged enough. - Depending on number of cars and drive width, is there room to get out of the car when parked if the drive is lined with plants? If the drive is particularly crowded with vehicles, for instance for a family gathering, is there room to walk up the drive to the house without having to avoid the plants lining the drive, or is there a pathway to accommodate foot traffic? I hate having to step out onto plants other than grass, and stepping over a 2 1/2' hedge would be inconvenient for all but the most physically fit and casually dressed. YES THIS IS WHY I put the hedge 3 feet away from the edge of the driveway, so car doors can open fully without hitting the hedge (if cars are parked that close to the driveway edge. the vinca border right along the driveway is low-growing vinca minor, it only grows about 6" tall especially if trimmed down once or twice a year which also promotes denser growth. And UGH! Keeping 75 feet of vinca (times two sides) in bounds would be something of a chore if it is happy. It sends out long runners that root where they touch, and I am constantly fighting to keep it out of the lawn and adjoining beds, etc. and it will try to grow out onto the driveway with the potential of being a trip hazard if it loops around and reroots. That's a lot of regular trimming. Pachysandra might be a better choice. pachy (and english ivy) climb and vinca doesn't. And it's quite sunny and vinca is the better of the 3 for sunny areas, and it fills in the quickest. It can be put around a hedge or other plants and not take over them as long as they're over a foot or so tall. With weekly or every other week mowing any vinca runner can be cut back in literally like 10 seconds while edging the driveway with a string trimmer. The vinca border has a bed edge/clif cut out of the lawn and just run the string trimmer vertically over any runners to keep it out of the lawn. Yes if unkept the vinca can creep into the lawn but I see this situation all the time with other groundcovers and it's not that hard to keep in place. Also trimming a 2-3 ft tall hedge is a cakewalk for me. going up on ladder and trimming branchy stuff becomes a chore but a simple hedge trim like that is no problemo.

Do you want a hedge of all the same, like the line of hydrangeas or the original line of Clethra? If you want them all the same, they will all need to be short enough to not grow up in front of the windows unless you truly enjoy pruning shrubs. I would also suggest that almost all the Clethra seem to be alive, just had quite a bit of dieback, and they may recover if you have patience and keep an eye on soil moisture levels this summer. Don’t just rely on the timing of the irrigation system, but actually check that water is sinking down deeply in the soilwith your fingers. Regardless of what you plant, maintaining whatever soil moisture the plants like is important for the first couple of years. If it were mine, I wouldn’t have the bed line jog in where the house does, but run the edge of the bed across in a single line. That will give the shrubs more space to grow as well as making the AC less visible without the shrubs having to be particularly close to the AC units because the shrubs will be set farther out from the house. As currently placed, it looks like your shrubs will be too close to the AC in a relatively short time. I would be more likely to place a simple but ornamental screen across a couple feet (or whatever the required clearance is) in front of the AC. Paint it to match the plantings or the house. Your current Clethra might be a bit large for that spot because they can get large unless they are one of the smaller cultivars. Because the area has sun for a few hours and then the shade looks relatively bright due to the lack of overhanging trees and the white siding, you can plant part sun plants. Whether any of these would work will depend on the cultivar you choose and whether you are able to enlarge the bed a bit. Look at appropriately sized Rhododendron (either deciduous or evergreen), Kalmia/mountain laurel, Fothergilla, perhaps one of the Hydrangea arborescens/smooth Hydrangea cultivars unless that is the type of Hydrangea you already have, Leucathoe, Enkianthus, perhaps one of the smaller selections of Viburnum.