I've just dug everything up in my front bed and I want to start again - what can I put in that is low maintenance and pretty?

[IHeartKingThistle]

I have a big curved bed to the side of the front door. It gets full sun but only in the afternoons.

3 years ago I filled it with perennials which looked lovely for the first 2 years, but I obviously was doing something wrong because most of them have now bitten the dust and I hate the way they look during the winter.

So I've dug it all up. Now have a large expanse of bare earth.

I'm thinking shrubs? A few medium plants rather than loads of fiddly little ones? The bed is under the living room window so nothing higher than about a metre though.

Any suggestions please?

There are also some heuchera and heucherella which thrives in sun.

I just read your first post and see that you want some winter structure:
You could plant some of the new grasses like stipa or miscanthus in your border together with late flowering plants like heleniums (waltraut) and sanguisorba and asters and nerines. Midsummer plants like canna and daylilies which thrive in the sun might be a change too.
A bit of topiary can also be nice such as box balls or box spirals as those might also provide structure in the winter.

Was also going to suggest lavender and agree it shouldn't look like dead sticks!

You can get miniature azaleas as well but they need lime-free soil, so if you're on any kind of chalk, forget it. Check other people's gardens around you - if there are lots of rhododendrons/azaleas, then you should be ok - if not, then might become too hard to manage.

Hydrangeas can come in all sorts of types too, but are deciduous. If you want a nice evergreen, try a berberis - they come in shades of green and red, and have very colourful berries. Also have spikes.
Ceanothus for blue flowers.

Would some different types of heather work for you?

I was thinking heathers might be good at the front. I know you can get them that flower at different times of the year.

Has anyone mentioned phormiums? They're probably better for the front as they need a bit of sun. Also allow space for them to grow to 1-1.5m diameter. I like the lighter, brighter colours. Mine is 'rainbow queen' - yellowy green with red stripes along the spikes. The gloomier grey-greens tend to get lost in the bed or against the backdrop of the house I find.

The spiky shape contrasts anything else I have in the bed and they use up a nice amount of space

They're evergreen but need protecting from frost I think.

I also have ceanothis and buddleia on the fence for the bees

I have had a lot of pleasure form my perennial nemesia, it looked pretty and flowered for months and months.

I would suggest Chosia (otherwise known as Mexican Orange Blossom), it's evergreen and low maintenance. The leaves always brighten up a garden as they're a yellow-green.

crocus.co.uk/plants/_/choisya-ternata-sundance--lich-pbr/classid.824/

Choisya

Some good suggestions here
www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=845

I like Daphne odora for front gardens as it smells amazing, is evergreen and not too vigorous, and Choisya Aztec Peaeal for pretty foliage and flowers. Hellebores (spring flowering) and Astrantia plus Geraniums (summer flowering) and some bulbs would complete the mix.

I'd offer a mild caution re. the choisya, only because I have this problem - if anyone in your house has hayfever, it could make it worse while it blooms. Other than that, it's a good evergreen shrub.
Variegated privet is another nice one that can be easily shaped into a nice low hedge but will need reasonable pruning every year to keep it down. Good if you enjoy pruning, less good if you don't!

Thanks for that ThumbWitch - EVERYONE here except me has hayfever!

I'd go for grasses - recently planted some in our garden and theyre fab - you can go for a mix of heights/colours and then add some interest with a few tall colourful things like heleniums in the summer.

The grasses are pretty low maintenance and will look good all year round too.

Oops, posted that after having only read 1 page.

Interesting reading....I'm pretty new to gardening, and a lot of things mentioned I really dislike.....conifers, Berberis, contoneaster, brooms. There were lots of those in in our garden when we moved in but we've taken them all out.

We planted grasses - stipa tenuissima and miscanthus. Interesting to hear these are new ones...i guess there's a fashion element to gardening too.