7a isn't so bad, we hardly dip below 10 degrees. A lot of plants that were formerly thought not hardy here are proving hardy the last few years. I have some cape fuchsia pulling through. Yes, 'Goshiki' osmanthus is fully hardy here and I planted quite a few at my cousins. They can get massive I saw a mature specimen at a nursery near her house. I worry it will not fill the space as they are very slow growing though and more rotund than tall. I have seen a few other osmanthus at nurseries but they aren't offered here too much due to our area having variable dips in zones, it's super erratic so many places don't carry certain things and its only in the last few years that more solid zone 7 plants have been showing up in MD at nurseries. Our yard is definitely zone 7a though.

Maybe you could define - for yourself if for no one else - what "special" means to you. There are so many ways that shrubs can be special, especially from a close-up perspective. Let me give you an example. I know that I am a foliage gardener first, and I am also a plant minutiae gardener who likes to see things changing every day, and always having something to anticipate. For example, my favourite plants next to my front steps are Anemonopsis macrophylla, a perennial that takes months to form these little ball-shaped buds and then another eon to open them. Maybe I'm an easy mark, but I watch and enjoy that plant all spring and summer, same with a fern on the other side that unfurls huge fronds one at a time all summer. So for me, no matter how wonderful a flowering display might be (say, lilacs), the undistinguished foliage and (lack of) form of the plant makes it dull for me, especially because if something like that is next to the deck, by the time you can sit out there, there is nothing more to look forward to with it. It's done for the year. Your preferences may be totally different. You may be focussed on fragrance, or bloom colour (I go plant shopping with a friend who is into pastels. We never fight over a plant. If it's pink and fragrant she buys it, if it's orange and has great leaves, I do). Let me start by asking if your rhododendron diagnosis means no rhodos in that spot again? I fortunately haven't had to learn that. But if not by the deck, then perhaps in the other spot? There is a plethora of Rhodos with fabulous foliage and good form, but you have to hunt them down (such as the legendary Sir Charles Lemon that never blooms but with leaves like that, doesn't have to). I personally avoid the ones that turn into green blobs, have undistinguished foliage, and bloom in trusses (I'll flex on the last point to get the first two right). Now, here's the trick. If you know what you want, you may be able to get it from quite a common shrub. My little laugh at myself is that I have spent probably thousands on special shrubs (not kidding, I'm afraid), but of those that have survived, few have given me the enjoyment that a garden-variety blue hydrangea has - one left behind in a pot by the previous owner; I don't even know what it is. Similarly, because mock orange takes a long time to get its act together each year, I actually really enjoy it (and that might be good for the spot beside the deck but some do get huge... and maybe they can in that spot). I'm not going to check zones for you, but here are a couple of shrubs I have enjoyed that might work by your deck: Disanthus, Loropetalum fire dance, Fothergilla, and unlikely but true, Rose of Sharon/Hibiscus - in my case, Red Heart. Love the branch structure and grey trunk of my hibiscus. On that note, you might also consider one of the smaller special bark trees, like an Acer griseum or Japanese maple with the stripe bark attribute. Yes, the maples are OK in part sun/shade. And you probably can't grow Edgeworthia, but if you can.. Beside the deck too you might consider specialty conifers. Once you get into them, there are some to die for. Tougher to find one that would work in more shade. Of the shrubs mentioned so far, I have to say I was all excited about getting an Itea, but in real life: deadly boring. In particular, in my climate it needs good sun to get its famed fall colour. Kalmia too, I just couldn't get too excited about it. Final word, I promise: by the wall, anything deciduous will lean for the light. I would recommend evergreen for sure there - rhodo if you can. Alternative: put a big focal point container there with something in it that you like. Karin L

Consider "Chuck Hayes" Gardenia. A man in Philadelphia had one that he was asking for pruning instructions on because it had grown to be 5 feet tall in 3 years and was getting really big. They are evergreen and love shade, especailly in the afternoon. They can bloom off and on all summer, but they really bloom in the spring and fall. As far as smell, well, it's a gardenia, a double flower. Only the "Chuck Hayes" blooms like that and is cold hardy to your zone. Just don't drown it.

maries1120 - despite the name, Mountain Ash is not a true Ash (Fraxinus), it is a Sorbus, so EAB would not affect it. Search under Sorbus and you will see there is a wide variety of species and cultivars. But I don't know whether they would be suitable for your region.