What to plant, where I have to plant it?

I am about to move in a house with no plants around it. Its in the country right next to a large wooded area. I have huge mud holes along the front of the house on each side of the small porch. The ground a couple of feet in front of the holes then throughout the yard is hard soil. The front only catches morning and afternoon sun. I want a non-expensive type of shrubbery for the front and some small flowers to plant in front of the shrubs. I want to also place some cacti on the right side of the house that will catch all the sun. Question is....1. What do I need to do (inexpensively) to get the area of the holes ready to plant in? ....2. What shrubs can I plant that will do good?....3. What kind of flowers? ....4. What kind of cactus?.....I also know nothing about plants. I would love to plant something that I can see the fruits of next spring....all in all I want my yard to look good. I do have 3 large dogs and a cat outside. I live in south carolina.