Where are you located?

Mountain laurel. Itea. Hydrangeas.

Just for clarity, your siding is t1-11 plywood panels that have been painted, right?

besides a flat area for the a/c .. whats the point of it ..

thinking outside your box.. just get rid of it ... and go back to lawn??? .. but get that going asap so it doesnt wash away in the first good storm ..

is that painted T-111 .. if so.. you cant plant anything of size to close to it.. so when you paint you can get in there.. but also.. its not good to have plants rubbing on paint.. or increasing moisture . another reason to be done with it ...

if you were to want to plant shrubs of any potential size height-wise ... you would probably be planting out next to the timber anyway ...

always include your big city location.. i know you probably told us in some other post.. but i have more important things to remember day to day .. than where you are .. like wearing pants when i leave the property .. lol ..

and if you do get rid of it.. and need to build something for the a/c... use retaining wall stone.. it wont rot like that wood eventually will... usually right after you are too old to fix it yourself.. and some young punk will want a boatload of money to fix it... think way ahead ...

all that said .. im not sure you need anything there.. since you cant see it from the street.. and why walk around from the back to look at it.. no matter what you plant ... and really now.. who the heck cares what the neighbors see ... screw them .. lol ... and if they mention it... park something out in front of the house that will really piss them off ... lol ... then they will stop thinking about this side ...

ken

A pretty common north side planting up here in MN is Hydrangea arborescens like Annabelle or other cultivars. Pretty easy and low maintenance once established.

Yeah wood siding. I’m in NW Illinois. This area doesn’t serve much of a purpose at all. I’m not really sure what was ever in there, but SOMETHING would be better than nothing.

So you’re zone 4? How deep is that bed?

tj

Zone 5. As far as I know it’s all earth, no concrete etc under it

No, sorry, I mean what are the dimensions of the bed.

tj

Useable space is about 14’ W x 6’ D

I think there are plenty nice shade plants you can put in there with some sort of walking path between some plants/shrubs. I would not want something that grows too large and something easy to care for. I would put a hydrangea for shade in there at the back and maybe a border of something that will stay small and keep you from stepping off the wood. I would not plant close to the a/c unit and I would maybe add something to keep the dirt away from the unit. It all depends on what you want to spend and the labor you want to give to an area you don't see much.

I have a variety on my northside. From hostas, perennials, to trees and shrubs. Everything seems to do very well. I say the skies the limit!...but like the others have said, do you really want to put that much work into an area that you don’t really see?

Personally I would not be able to resist a bed of hosta as gardenho has suggested, but it’s up to you about the time and effort. Any planting will looke better than a bunch of dirt which will likely grow weeds when left alone.

debra

I might go with fothergila or even Chamaecyparis Pisifera 'Variegata Nana'. Both of these do well on the north side of my garage. If you’re planning more plantings, a trip to the Bickelhaupt Arboretum in Clinton, Iowa would be worthwhile.

tj

Some trellises along with some of the other ideas would be great to created a look like this