A lot of prairie plants can handle tough soils like yours.

Perhaps something simple such as clumps of two or three perennial plants alternating with each other. For example, clumps of Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) and a grass such as Little Bluestem if you want to keep things lower than about 3 feet, or Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum) if you want plants up to about 5 feet tall. All of these plants, and many others, will do fine with half a day of sunshine. Like bob64 wrote, many other prairie plants will thrive in this situation.

I am picturing a rather long and narrow border along the house so that there really isn't room for a front row and a back row. If the area is wider you might try more species, such as an Aster or Goldenrod for fall color, or a woodland sunflower for a taller summer and fall bloomer. i recommend you keep it simple - you'll get far more visual impact with several clumps of each species, which necessitates a limited number of species. Also, larger clumps of each species generally makes for more visual impact and easier maintenance.