Hi Everyone,

I'm hoping to get some input regarding plant choices. I know very little regarding this stuff and finally have the time to address my yard other than just general tidying. I've attached a few pics of the yard and I am looking for suggestions on what to put where? The area along the fence (where you can see the propane tanks) gets very little light... mostly indirect except maybe an hour in the morning. The pic on the other side with all the garbage gets full sun. There is going to be a hot tub taking the majority of that space but there is an 18" wide planter box at the front (you can see the blue tube a bit which is the irrigation). In the back you get a mix of sun and shade.
Main goals:
1) To add some colour. I will do some potted annuals around the yard but it would be nice to have some flowering perennials.
2) if possible I'd like to know if there is any long lasting flower I could put around the base of the apple tree. I don't know if this is possible but I thought if something like daisies but I have no idea what's out there.
3) to plant something lower maintenance the full length of where those propane tanks are. I thought of something like ferns. I thought junipers at first but I was concerned about the apple tree and shared diseases.

Last point my dog uses the large back right corner to go to the bathroom so I planned to put large pine tree of sorts in that corner which I can keep trimmed well above the ground so he can still roam around there. Note the whole area is irrigated.

Any help is appreciated even if it's just general plant combo ideas or things to consider.

oh and I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.