I'm not much of a fan of self watering containers. If the water gets hot the plants seam to die really fast. Some people really like them though so it may be just me. Its easier to care for tomatoes in really large containers. The smaller the container the more often you have to water and fertilize. You picked good varieties for containers though so if you watch them really close you may have good success. When I read the reviews on Bush Goliath it made me wish that I had planted some. Best of luck to you.

I've got several raised beds on the south side of my house that don't get full sun more than a few hours a day. They are blocked by the house nextdoor, trees to the east and a tree to the west, so they're really only getting late morning and early afternoon sun. Tomatoes don't like it there. Small peppers do okay in the sunniest beds. What loves it there and grows like mad is lettuce, beets and the greens like collards and chard. Onions do okay there, but it takes them a long time to get going. All of my herbs have done well there. Cucumbers do really well there in summer, too, where they'd scorch anywhere else in the yard. I say go for it. If you're building a simple box, you can always move it to a sunnier spot if it's not working out.

where is the logic that sun might not be sun .. what different iws intensity ... and that is important on heavy water needing plants ... sun in the heat of the day is bad for such.. weak sun at dawn ... when there is no heat.. is still sun ...but not a problem to water lovers .. keep in mind.. many things listed as shade ... are simply shade tolerant ... you dont mention what you are looking at.. so its hard to give any guidance ... e,g. i have a variegated viburham ... in sun its .. did i tell you this already ... its nearly yellow with green highlights ... in full shade .. but for maybe an hour at sunset ... its green with gray and white patches ... they are about the same size.. sop i would conclude lack of direct sun does not greatly impact vigor ... also.. things like rhodie/azalea ... have a fine fibrous root system.. that is usually barely below soil level ... so hot sun on the soil... might cause water shortages in the heat of the day in full hot sun ... and might droop or start showing other signs of stress ... so no full sun ... but a few hours at dawn or dusk would..imo.. be irrelevant ... and in fact.. probably a good thing ... ken

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.