Forgot to add that your relative's yard has the same exposures as mine! In my backyard I grow daylilies, roses, iris, campanula, dianthus, columbine, lilies and peonies.
My roses are drift roses I won in the NARR raffle a couple of years ago. They are in a space similar to your L box but my apple tree is further away. That space mostly gets early morning sun and then maybe an hour in the afternoon in the summer. They are doing great & are reblooming nicely now after a great showing in Spring.
