Daylilly 'Hyperion' is about 4 ft tall for me, and flowers in part shade. It would be hardy for you. There are some other tall daylillies that might be easy. I like 'Hyperion' because the soft yellow looks good with lots of color schemes, and it smells nice. Oh your name is Daylillydreams so maybe you have some. I usually think of daylillies for sun but some are fine in a shady spot.
For the first year an annual that grows well and looks nice in part shade are the tall Nicotiana cultivars and species. Flowers come in white, like N. sylvestris, lime green (N. langsdorfii), and rosy pink (N. 'Tinkerbell'). For me they will survive a mild winter, I can't imagine that would be the case for you. But they love part shade and grow fast in the spring.
