What's your zone and nearest city? Layout possible paths with hoses or string. I like creeping tiarella as a ground cover, but you need to buy plugs, which are often only for sale in the early spring. The Pollen Nation, my favorite source is sold out.

What fern you want depends on how dry your shade is. I have marginal shield ferns and christmas ferns, which seem to do okay. There are some asters that do well in dry shade. And goat's beard is a great choice too.

Charlotte zone 7b

Pretty area, you can probably do a lot with it.

As @Sigrid asked, is the area dry or wet? If dry, will you add irrigation or handwater?

What is your budget? Do you plan to do the work yourself or hire out?

Super dry. Doing the work myself and want it to look really natural. And likely handwater, with some slow-soaking irrigation to support that.

Goat's beard and heartleaf aster do well in my dry, shady garden.

Goat's Beard is the white flower. Spigela is the red.

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I'm not sure a solar waterfall would work in the shade. Run power for a water pump and lighting if possible. Otherwise just a small pond or bowl that holds water. They make floating solar fountains that would run part of the time.

I used an extension cord to the yard for a small water pump once upon a time...the pond was a barrel planter insert in the ground. A small waterfall, a stone creekbed for the water that flowed into the pond...small setup but effective next to the patio. I wish I had a photo.

I think laceyvail gave you some wonderful suggestions. The C. pennsylvanica is a spreading (not clumping ) Carex, so plant it where is has room to expand. Some Carex are clumping which do not spread quickly. Mt. Cuba Center is a great resource to learn about almost anything you want to grow because they do lots of trials and will have good information for the various types of the plants they research. Their gardens are just outside Wilmington, Delaware and well worth a visit. If you ever get up that way, they are close to Longwood Gardens which is always a treat.

Please come back to show us your project as it proceeds. I am sure it will be a lovely garden.

When we had our yard done, I was planning on using a hose to hand water. My gardener talked me out of it and installed a drip system on a timer. So glad we did!