My only thought is to be careful not to put in things that are going to make it look like an overgrown mess that needs to be weeded. Maybe stick with things like lavender that people can tell are shrubs rather than the grasses that make properties look unkempt.

My first thought, after seeing the first photo, was to suggest tall shrubs with attractive bark, year-round, like Amelanchier, crape myrtle, star magnolia, and even lilacs, however you have all that elsewhere and in better light conditions, as the other photos say you are short on sunlight here.

Consider a mixture of rhododendrons and mountain laurel type broad-leaved shrubs that will feel good and add fragrance at the deck, plus looking great all year long from within the house, where you spend most of your time.

Enjoy your wonderful yard, from the inside as well.

cascio.offsite@gmail.com

I wouldn't recommend miscanthus. It gets large and it will look too much for your area (I am guessing you wanted to plant it at the corner.
For grasses, you could do around the edge the short blue fescue festuca and for taller ones you could use the fountain grass.
The Ninebark gets large as well..not sure you have the space for that.
You seem to have quite a bit of shade there, so you might consider plants that do well in shaded area such as bleeding hearts, hostas, heucheras
If you want privacy, then maybe you should consider vertical garden

I'm more worried about the safety of people visiting you...no railings and no lighting to alert one to the edge.

Good point DC. I guess they shouldn't drink too much or stay in the dark:) Then again, it's grass, so the fall won't be too tough:) Plus, Oregon (Portland area) has really nice and helpful people, so they will help if need be

Nice deck! I agree with Casio that rhododendrans would be a great choice. The fact that they are evergreen would give you definition and interest in winter as well as the warmer months. A nice deciduous choice would be forsythia or hydrangea (if they grow in the northwest...?)

My mom's rhododendrons and my forsythia are huge. Not sure these are great plants for a small space.

Know I sound like a broken record... But an old house like yours just cries out for some hydrangeas.

Hi, 1.5 years later I stumbled across this thread. i would
love to see what you decided to plant. Had I seen your question sooner, I would have agreed the most with the person who recommended the shorter, smaller, shade-loving plants (bleeding hearts, hostas, heucheras/coral bells, ajuga, vinca minor). The problem with taller plants that close to the deck, especially woody ones:
(1) you are limited to very few narrow plants (unless you want to encroach more of the lawn by making the beds wider),
(2) taller plants touching the deck can create mildew on the deck and mildew can occur on the plants from the deck blocking air circulation,
(3) taller plants will block any deck maintenance that needs to be done: wood repairs, washing, staining, etc. When its time to maintain the deck, the taller woody shrubs would have to be pruned so severely that it could shock/kill the shrub because more than 1/3 of the plant is pruned at one time. There are some plants that are very forgiving when severely pruned during the growing season, ornamental grasses come to mind. You can google other forgiving plants.
You will be able perform deck maintenance much easier around smaller ground-cover type plants.

If you really want taller plants surrounding your deck, just make the surrounding bed wider so you can plant them further away from the deck. Remember the structure maintenance rule: Leave a maintenance row access between the plant and any structure (house, deck, shed, etc).
Tall evergreens that do well in shade are boxwoods and yews (columnar and pyramidal growing varieties). Please post pics (or list) what you decided to use. We would love to see them.