For shade, try azaleas and mt. Laurel.

The classic PA solution is azaleas and rhododendrons. Spoken by someone who lived in PA for 15 years and worked in horticulture, but is now back in her native MI. Mountain laurels are a tad difficult to grow. All those need the right soil conditions and acid conditions for the soil too.

Two other popular fancy structural shrubs that don't need much effort to maintain their shape and form are oak leaf hydrangea (be aware of ultimate height, there are several cultivars with varying heights) and Mt. Airy fothergilla. Yews are formal and will take shade, again they come in a variety of mature forms, from dwarf to giant trees.

Another plant you can grow that I can't, is Japanese andromeda. Also goes by the name Pieris japonica, the scientific latin name. It also needs acid soil. This is why "Holly Tone" and other acidic fertilizers are ubiquitous in PA garden shops!

This is south side of the house - full sun from morning until 3 / 4 in the afternoon

I think those sections of vertical siding are begging for a trellis on each of them for something climbing. Climbing roses or a clematis perhaps... something generally well behaved. Or perhaps a couple of sky pencil Japanese hollies?

You have lots of options with plants! Baptisia, Russian sage, peonies, daylilies, coneflowers, black eyed susans, hyssop, japanese anemone, and asters come to mind as fairly easy to grow options that add some nice color.

Also, if I were you I would add more curve to the line of the bed in front of the ac unit... start the curve from the far left (as you're facing house) of the left vertical siding portion and curve outward with the "peak" of curve meeting the midpoint of ac unit and then curving back in and rejoining old boundary at the far right side of the right portion of vertical siding. Sorry I don't know how to do a visual to share- but hope that makes sense. Doing that would allow you more space to plant something in front of ac unit to help hide it a bit more but still have necessary access. You could do a smaller variety of azalea there or something that is generally evergreen but also blooms.

Thank you Hope, I lived in CA for 30 years before moving to PA. Trying to find the right roses and mix things up a bit with other flowers and color is challenging. Nothing I grew in CA grows here, so it is like starting from ground zero.

I really like the idea of Clematis. I would also like to add some more butterfly bushes somewhere - such wonderful color all summer long!

Is there a specific variety of Clematis that you would recommend? Any that have longer bloom periods? I kind of miss the year round color I got in CA.

The new AC unit is a bit smaller (not much) but I do have 4' in front of the unit. Had tomatoes in pots there this summer so I could move them as I worked, but will have those on the other side of the house in a less publicly viewed area next year.

Have to wait another year or two to know which of the roses are happiest here in PA - bought about 15 varieties, all own root, so it takes 3 years to see what they will do.

I haven't gotten any climbers, but it is a nice option for the space in front of the red verticals. Will have to read up on the varieties to see which are recommended for this area.

All great suggestions. I would add Olga to that list. They bloom earlier than all other azal/rhod. Love to see that pink.

I struggle with clay soil and minimum light. So I stick to hosta, Mt laurel, repeating day lillies, aza/rhod, ferns. All forgiving and grow without my help. Perhaps baptisia or honeysuckle...autumn joy sedum is a nice large mounded variety for this time of year.

I don't know as much about clematis, and have not grown it -yet- so can't recommend a specific one. The previous owner of our house had planted a clematis but it was not in an ideal spot and died within our first year of being here. I know there are so many varieties and colors that I'm sure you could find some you like that would work for your zone and yard specifics.

I have grown (currently am growing) all the other recommendations I made, with the exception of climbing roses (waiting to screen our back porch before planting those to grow up the corner). They each have their own seasons for blooming and I've tried to make sure there is always something with color blooming. And FWIW, I'm a pretty lazy gardener.

I understand about learning a new zone and plants... I moved to KY from SC and have had to learn over the years what works well here and what doesn't. But I have also found some cold hardy varieties of a much loved "Southern" plant (camellias) and have had fun with things that do better here than in SC (like tulips). And I have a gardenia (grown from a cutting that came from my mom's gardenias that she grew from a cutting that came from her mom's gardenias in GA) in a big pot that lives the winter months inside by the sunniest french door and outside the rest of the year.

Hopefully some others with more experience with clematis or other climbing plants will chime in with some helpful ideas/advice! I hope you have fun creating a new garden/landscape design you love and find beautiful!

I have a lot of sun throughout the day at my house. There are a lot of Spirea variations but I’m in love with Candy Corn because the leaves change color so beautifully. Other Spirea species seem to thrive in direct sun as well.

Rhododendron are pretty and also hardy. For something that can grow really tall if you don’t cut it, look for Rose of Sharon. Butterfly bushes need to be trimmed in February or they will grow very tall and gangly.

Underneath windows, look for dwarf species - we have dwarf arborvitae in front of our low porch and they get Tennessee sun all summer. They’re doing well.

@BeverlyFLADeziner - I appreciate your opinion, and understand that current tends make this popular choice, but the color was chosen when the home was built back in the 60s when Cherokee Red was quite popular and organic architectural principles were in vogue.

My foyer and living room fireplace share a brick wall that matches the exterior and have large windows that allow you too see both interior and exterior at the same time. The red trim matches the red slate in the purple, red and green slate flooring.

that coupled with the fact that I love red and buy a lot of art and décor that contains red, I don't think I would be as happy with gray siding as I am with the red.

I too like your red. Getting tired of gray gray gray. I do like gray, but it is becoming overdone, a least for me.

I just planted a candy corn Spirea around the corner from the butterfly bush last year and added two more this year. Thought I would repeat that on the front of the shed, I will also have 4 rose bushes that are the orange and yellows. (Midas Touch, Oranges and Lemons, Fragrant Cloud and Teasing Georgia) and have Louise Clements on my wish list that I thought would work well near the candy corn Spirea. (East side of the house) Opposite side of the back yard has an area with yellow and orange daylilies.

Where's your birdbath going? Doesn't everyone need one? Ha ha.

If you like red, there are weigela shrubs with red flowers and red foliage. "Wine and Roses" is a popular cultivar. Ninebark is a great flowering shrub, but most cultivars tend to get big so need pruning to keep in line. I love the spirea. I had magic carpet spirea at my last house, it even repeat bloomed. I also had golden globe arborvitae, they were easy care and didn't need pruning. Also Ms. Kim lilac. Kind of blah the rest of the year but really nice late bloomer and not as gangly as most lilacs, very tidy. Mugo or dwarf white pine also nice structural elements. As are landscape roses.

Redtwig or golden twig dogwood also nice, but again, needs occasional pruning. Winterberry holly stunning in fall if you don't have deer. Other hollies you can grow too . . . I've never been a holly fan but they can be cute in the right setting . . . depends on the look you are going for. Structural shrubs make a nice compliment to your highly structural house. Easy care one are bred to keep a nice shape without a lot of pruning, like Ms. Kim lilac, etc.

Blue star juniper a nice contrast for the reds . . . other junipers too, I like that plant, not picky about growing conditions. Lots of sizes and shapes to choose from, from low growing mats to tall tree-like shrubs. I had a "torulosa" one. It got big but it was lovely . . .