how near are you planting to the fence ...

ken

Acidic soil in Cleveland? I grew up in the east side suburbs with relatively neutral clay. Have you had a soil test done?

IME Rhododendron, Aronia (chokeberry) and Weigela like acid soil and have healthy foliage. I would probably mulch well with an organic mulch such as shredded bark mulch that will break down and add organic matter. Be sure to water deeply during the first growing season if you have long periods without significant precipitation.

Ken, about 2.5 feet out.

NHBabs, Thanks for the suggestions. The soil is probably more neutral to acid. I have not had a soil test done. I'm basing my assumption on my neighbor's hydrangea on our property line which always comes up blue, and I know they don't amend with anything.

Just to illustrate, here is the area in question (around where you see the pink plastic pot). I will need to perform a good rock extraction first as this used to be a gravel driveway.

Another view from farther back.

Have you checked out rose creek abelia? I bought 2 last fall, and they are thriving. They don't recieve alot of sun and are planted close to a fence like yours. They are pretty maintenance free for me and are picture perfect. They are also planted with a few feet of a plum tree. I am in upstate SC.

the pot is not 2.5 feet away ... but lets assume you mean 2.5 from the fence ...

will you be fine with covering all the loose rock.. and perhaps those two errant larger stones ... as it encroaches on the walkway flagstone???

frankly ... do understand.. that no shrub ever stops growing ... so no matter what you plant ... you will have to learn how to rejuvenate prune.. to keep it well within that spot ... which is just fine... as long as you understand that .. up front ...

i really wouldnt call that deep shade ... based on the flowering plants.. and the fact that nothing is leaning towards light .... so you might get away with most anything ...

something that might look cool there... from the conifer world... is a weeping larix ... which could easily be trained to the space you want .. even along the fence . ... and deciduous .. but no flowers ... but again.. you would have to be proactive with pruning ...

part of what i am seeing.. is a lack of a vertical .... and all the squat shrubs you are suggesting.. just highlight your horizontal space ...

good luck

ken

https://www.google.com/search?q=weeping+larix&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMIgYLKrf_-xwIVB3-SCh2mBw4M&biw=867&bih=745&dpr=0.9

Aronia, chokeberry, is too big for that spot, IME. I don't know of any miniatures or narrow ones. You might want to look at small Rhododendrons and some of the smaller Weigelas. I'd also suggest looking at clematis on a trellis or obelisk to fill the area above the shrub.

shade-tolerant clematis Not all of the ones in the list will be readily available, and they would all want at least 3-5 hours of sun to bloom well, but between your 3 hours of direct sun and the dappled light after that, they should be okay.

Ken, I think the weeping Larix is cool, but my co-habitant just walked by and poo-pooed it so it might be out. Thank you, though. I agree that a vertical element is called for.

Part of what I am taking into consideration is this Redbud, which I am hoping fills in a bit. If it does, that area will certainly be in almost full shade. This tree is about 20 years old, but has been suffering under a taller canopy of Mulberry and Ailanthus trees until this past April when the neighbors with the yellow garage there finally had them removed. It is hard to tell from this photo due to the background trees the next street over, but you can see how terribly sad and lopsided it is. I hope it can survive and correct itself.

A 20 year old redbud isn't much longer for this world. They also don't tend to have dense canopies at the best of times. You are probably much better off replacing it if you want a good looking redbud there.

As far as the hydrangeas go, there are some that bloom blue except with an extremely high pH. So Endless Summer blooms very blue for me, in spite of multiple soil tests all giving a pH of 7.2.

Thanks, mad gallica. Maybe this will give me an excuse to plant the crabapple I've always wanted.

I like redbud trees why is it so thin has it been improperly trimmed

Logan - if you read the OP's post just above the last picture there is an explanation for the state of the redbud.

I think the redtwig dogwood wood be a good fit since you can easily control the size; good winter interest. Dappled Willow would also work.

Also smaller ninebarks for contrast.

The poor redbud is definitely coming down. I started digging the hole for whichever shrub goes against the fence, and found several thick and still living tree roots from these which used to be right overhead. (You can sort of see how we didn't notice how bad the redbud was until they came down. It's the one with the blue birdhouse in the bottom left corner.) So, now the plan is figure out how to kill those and wait long enough for them to die before any planting happens in that spot.

arlene,

What about a japanese maple? They don't get real big, depending on variety, and like acid like soil, part sun, and will provide some shade there. You could get an upright variety, just a thought.