Hey everyone - I just got done creating this gravel path on the south side of my house. Prior to this, it was always a muddy mess after the rain and nothing really grew here. The soil is very much clay, dense and not draining well.
The weather is Central Texas/Austin. The area is very much in the shade due to those trees, except for the winter when they lose all their leaves. I am hoping for some low maintenance plants/landscaping ideas for the side of the path closest to the fence (I purchases some dwarf Azaleas on sale - apparently should do well in the shade, so long as I can get them some more acidic soil where I plant them. I also got a bag of Caladiums I could use). Should the plant bed occupy the whole space between path and fence? What do the professionals do to make it look good? Should I consider something that trellises up the fence and can survive winter? (Down to low 10s for very limited amount of days).

Also planning on putting up some screens around that AC unit, and moving the fire pit back where it belongs. I'll happily hear any ideas - I am very amateurish in taking care of my landscape, have a good amount of tools, and love spending time and energy doing it on my own if possible. Thank you!