Good gravy about the metal frame, i call for a saws all and just buck it back to the wall if you cant get the bolts out. lol.

ponies need lots of sun, or they wont give you enough flowers to make it worth their while. So I'm not sure if they will work for you here. you probably get some morning sun in the front but im not sure.

Paint your front door black is no good for your cute house. As to the shutters I would just remove them.

Instead of white trim I might fancy a sage green or leave it as is once you remove the shutters white will be too plain IMO.

You really need a good landscape plan, ex: there is no path from the front door, and that will be a big factor into the garden design.

https://www.gardenia.net/plant-combinations/hardiness-zones/7

Ooh - I love how you built the flowers out further than where they are. There is a walkway, but it's just random concrete rectangles that I'm going to redo in concrete when I concrete the driveway.

You really do not want plants of any sort near enough to a building for them to touch. They make an ideal pathway for all kinds of things. Unless you replace that awning with something when you have heavy rain/snow especially in winter you may find your front area is a sheet of ice. That little jut out on houses directs two streams of water into that corner and will overload most gutters.

You might want to visit the Cheekwood Estate and Gardens. This will give you some options and connect you with folks in the know.

So you don’t like roses? They are my favorite.

I have some peonies that face North and they still bloom: PInk Hawaiian Coral, Moonstone, Lenora and Sandra Bernhardt (don’t recommend her because she flops). Also I Florence Nicholls faces east and she is the most vigorous and floriferous of all my peonies (she has side buds if you like that look, if not you can disbud them).

How about Japanese Maples? I also mix JMs with boxwoods (Justin Brouwers balls and upright growing like Dee Runk and Fastigiata) for evergreen interest.

A large caution on boxwoods at this time. Boxwood Blight is a growing problem and there is no cure at this time. Any thing big enough for a statement plant that will be lost in a couple of years is money wasted.

Back to the peony question. No need to worry about planting peonies in a yard nude of big trees as there is nothing to block the sun from reaching them.