I'm in Texas, zone 8, but we just had a week-long zone 7 weather event. I had lots of zone 7 plants in pots. Not one of them survived. Put shrubs in the ground because extreme weather happens, and roots in pots will freeze. Before I go any further, you should seriously consider painting your home before doing any landscaping. You especially want to paint before establishing any vine. Here is a Behr color that goes well with your roof and trim.

If you want a tall evergreen put it on the right corner (out of danger from roof snow) where it will balance the arch on the left. Don't replace the boxwood with a tall shrub; it would overwhelm the entry. Italian Cypress is only hardy to zone 8. Leyland Cypress is hardy to zone 6, but gets up to 15' wide when mature. Arborvitae 'Emerald Green' is hardy to zone 2 and grows up to 4' wide and 10-12' tall. Plant it 2' away from a wall or path.

Climbing Hydrangea (H. anomala subsp. petiolaris) is hardy to zone 4 and grows well in shade. You can place a trellis against the side of the arch to help it get started, but it will grab onto the surface. Once it gets to the top of the arch you will need to prune it to keep it in bounds. Do not let it get onto your tile roof.

Below is a mockup of your yard showing these plants at maturity. I've filled the bed in front of the window with a blooming shrub and low perennials. Check with a local nursery for plants best suited to your climate and soil.

Thanks so much for your reply and mock-up.

It looks beautiful. We actually like our house white so not interested in painting it-- only will be getting rid of the red trim eventually. May do some light blue accents around the windows but haven't gotten there yet! Hopefully the powerwash will clean it up so it won't need painting.

Really love the flowering hyrdrangeas on the arch--funny enough there are three right to the left of that arch along the retaining wall from the neighbors. They are probably many years old (we've lived here about 4 years) but they haven't flowered once. Thinking about ripping them out so not sure if one would flower if i put it along the arch. I did see there is possible a wisteria (which we love) that may blossom in shade so may look into that for that area. Its hard to see from the pic but there is also a very basic evergreen shrub kind of hiding the path to the arch way so thinking of replacing that to open up that area bit more. Not sure what we'd put there.

I like your placement of the tall/skinny cypress--sounds like an actually cypress is not what I need but I did just find a few different junipers that may work in that area. We were also thinking of doing it in a huge put to avoid any foundation issues but we can talk to the nursery people about that.

I am still stuck on the plants to the right of the door, under the window. I believe what we have is a Pieris that never looks great and feels awkward with the placement and size.

I was wondering if there was something else I can do to hide the backside of the wall (or at least make it stick out less) but haven't thought of anything that would work. Perhaps some red grasses behind the shrubs although those will die back in winter leaving the same issue.

Although Climbing Hydrangea grows readily in shade it will bloom better with some sun. Another reason this vine won't bloom is pruning at the wrong time. Best time to prune is late June to early July. Pruning in the fall, winter or spring removes growth that produces bloom. Fertilizing in early spring with a high phosphorous (middle number 3-9-4, 4-8-4, etc.) should help.

You should visit several local nurseries (NOT big box stores) and talk to people who know what grows best in your climate and soil. Tell them how much sun the area in front of the windows gets, the distance from the soil to the bottom of the window and the width and depth you need to fill. You are unlikely to find shrubs that immediately fill the space; they take time to grow. It's OK to fill in around shrubs with temporary plants—tall annuals, grasses, etc. Broad-leaf evergreen shrubs can give you flowers. Coniferous evergreens are better for texture.