Complete novice needs some suggestions for shrubs and trailing plants please!

[Lilbup]

We've just cleared our front garden and need to completely replant it. I'm a complete novice gardener and have no idea what to plant so I would be really grateful for any suggestions please!

The garden is raised up from the driveway and is surrounded by a rather ugly retaining brick wall at the front that is about 5ft in height when you look at it from the driveway. I'd quite like to grow some plants to trail over this wall to try and soften the look of it a bit.

When you are actually in the garden the retaining wall is only about 1ft tall and so I'd like to plant some shrubs to keep my children away from the wall as they like to lean over it at the moment. Ideally I'm looking for something that would be about 1m in height. The garden is northwest facing.

You could plant a hedge of some sort behind the wall in that case. Maybe something like cotoneaster horizontalis with something taller behind it or in between? Something evergreen is a good bet so it isn't bare and dull over winter.

If you like pinks and blues then aubrieta seems to be a popular choice for growing over walls, it is a perennial so will come back each year. There is also a trailing verbena that comes in pinky colours that often gets used in hanging baskets but I don't see why it wouldn't work over a wall. You can combine these with trailing lobelias which are annuals but you might find they self seed and keep going.

If you like warmer colours then nasturtiums are good growers and attract lots of bees, and you can eat the leaves in salads.

For some greenery there is creeping jenny which is quite delicate and pretty looking. You can also use ivy but it needs keeping in check.

There is a shrub called ceanothos that you can get upright or sprawling, and there are also trailing lavender plants that look lovely. There are creeping roses too that might be good for keeping people away from walls, but cascading down the other side.

Hypericum (St Johns Wort) is easy to look after and likes to grow up and over a wall. Yellow flowers through summer

Choiysa (Mexican Orange Blossom) grows quite quickly, nice spread, not too tall. White flowers through spring/summer

Thanks so much for the advice! We're off to the garden centre this morning to have a look.