Help needed: garden design

I am a good vegetable gardener, but keep stumbling around and making a mess of things with shrubs and flowers, I have no idea how to plan things out so they look good and flourish. Long story short...I used to have Heuchera, Helianthemum, Carex testacea, and a Ribes sanguneum in this bed in addition to the Evergreen huckleberry, Autumn joy sedum, and calla lily that are still there. Then I spent 2 years in graduate school (while also working full time) and the weeds took over, the Ribes (flowering current) keeled over onto its side trying to reach the sun to the right (even though I read they were good for part shade), all but one Heuchera died. So, I took out the flowering current, cleared the weeds, and I'm wondering what makes sense to plant here. The huckleberry is on the left, the calla lily (white) is in the back right corner, the sedum is in the front right corner with a sorry looking yellow helianthemum behind it, The house shades deeply in the morning, there is full sun on the right side midday, and the apple tree provides dappled shade in the late afternoon.
I'd think I'd like a shortish shrub on the right, but I'm open to any suggestion. That spot is odd, because it is full sun sometimes and part shady the rest of the time.

You should double check that these are OK in your area.

I would think of something fairly tall against the wall with no windows. Perhaps Camellia japonica unless the mid day sun is too much in your area, then Camellia sasanqua would work. So that would be more or less in the corner. Not squished into the corner, more like 3-5' from the house.
On each side of that I would put 3-5 shrubs (depending on size) so that pretty much the walls are hidden most of the year. In the maximum shade Azalea, Hydrangea, Rhododendron, Ferns... in the area where there is a bit more sun maybe those shade plants are OK, but if not then try Deciduous Azalea, or Southern Indica types, Nandina, Gardenia (maximum sun, these are not shade plants), Choisia termata, Phormium, Calla Lily,

Lower plants in front of the shrubs could be a mix of perennials that grow well in shade. Try a sort of 'one of each' approach until you find what works.
Smaller ferns, Astilbe, Liriope, Aquilagia, Heuchera (lots of different leaf colors), Berginia, Dicentra, ...

Lowest growing plants for ground cover: Lamium, Stachys (not the densest shade), Campanula (several species stay low and spread), Baby Tears

For the first few years while things are still getting going add annuals to fill in during the summer: Coleus, Impatients, Begonia (bedding),

Thanks for sharing your ideas. You are right it would be helpful to put shrubs in front of the blank wall space. Something tall but somewhat narrow could work in the back, right corner, but I think Camellias would be too tall. They get huge in this climate, and would get tangled up with the apple tree branches which overhang the bed to about 5 feet over the ground. The branches don't reach all the way into that corner, so I have a few feet to work with. It would have to be something that would not look funny with the apple tree branches hanging down in front.

I like the idea of azaleas, hydrangeas, and ferns, and the perennials you mentioned. I have never been able to keep a phormium alive over the winter, but I love them and might try again with a more hardy cultivar. You reminded me I had a Capanula Dickson's gold for groundcover at one time, and it did nicely in these conditions.

Camellia sasanqua are smaller than C. japonica, but even that might still be too large if you want something not much larger than about 5'. Read about some of the varieties- they do vary in size and shape. A more floppy or relaxed variety could be trained on a trellis to fit the area.
For another something narrower, how about Abutilon, tied to a trellis? You can prune it to suit the space.
Perhaps one of the smaller Holly (Ilex) would work. Many get quite large, so shop carefully.
If Pieris grow in your zone, there are some that tend to be smaller, and some are larger, but are slow growing. A variegated one might be nice, or else some are grown for their especially showy red new leaves.

I went to the garden center today to see what they might suggest, and Peiris was the first thing mentioned. Other options they thought might work were Leycesteria, Abelia, Hardy fuchsia,and Sambucus (but I think the latter would get too big). I'll look into the Holly too, as a focal point for the corner. I have a 2 foot wide rock pathway between the house and the garden bed, so any trellis would have to be self-standing, not tied to the wall. Abutilon is dicey here (officially 8b on zone maps, but I think it's more like 7b or 8 in reality), but that corner is somewhat protected, so it could be a possibility.

Abelia is not good in that much shade. Around here (zone 9b) they thrive in full sun, and can handle a little shade, but get really sparse in more shade. Even half a day is barely enough sun.

There are dwarf forms of Sambucus, some with really fancy leaves. Yes, research the sizes.

Are Fuchsias hardy enough for your zone? They occasionally freeze here, unless they are under the eaves. I would try any Fuchsias as perennials toward the front of the area, not expect them to get big enough or permanent enough for the back ground.

I think I am going to go with a Pieris (Flaming Silver Andromeda) for the back corner, or possibly Valley Valentine. The first has variegated leaves, which would be interesting and is the right height, while the second has maroon flowers, which would contrast with the evergreen huckleberry flower color. The huckleberry has the same bell-shaped flower form, and it is already established in the bed, so I want to keep it. the first thing I have to do is weed the bed out completely and dig in some compost. I may not be able to find a good selection of Pieris in local nurseries until spring, since that is when they bloom.

Spring is also good to see the new foliage. Some can be really bright red.

Add lots of compost or mulch over the whole area, even if you do not dig it in until you plants. Most plants that thrive in the shade came from forest floor sort of settings, with tons of leaf litter over the years. Very high organic matter content in the soil.

That's exactly the plan...lots of compost.
I looked up perennials for shade and have a list of things to try, including Pulmonaria, Tiarella, Brunnera, Hellebore, Dicentra, and Hosta, in addition to the ones already suggested.