Help! - we need a plan for this border

[onemoresausage]

We've recently moved house, and this north-facing border is in front of our bay window. It was filled with large untidy shrubs which the surveyor advised us to remove. My DH planted some yellow flowering plants (sorry, can't remember the name) in August, but they haven't exactly thrived. Neither of us are experienced gardeners. We need some recommendations for low level, colourful, but easy to maintain plants that will look good all year round.

i would try sowing something like this. www.meadowmania.co.uk/wildflower-instant-sunshine-mini-meadow.htm

I honestly think you can't go wrong with evergreen herbs and lavenders:

Purple sage
Green sage
Different heights of rosemary
Lavenders - I prefer large ones
Russian lavender
Cotton lavenders- I've just found there's several different colours and came on to enquire actually.

I'm sure there's some others.

All flower beautifully and are fragrant, usually like poor soil, (Russian mustn't be fertilised) and have kitchen uses.

You'd have to find out the best tones to properly prune to get best results but that's about it.

Ooh camomile, thyme...

My top tip would be to think about spring, autumn and winter as much as summer. I would get some spring bulbs in now - Tête-à-tête narcissus as it flowers early, then bigger daffodils and maybe some others like tulips or hyacinths. Long-flowering wallflowers Bowles mauve, lavender, rosemary, Japanese anemones for late summer/autumn flowers, and a small evergreen shrub with variegated leaves, like green and white Euonymus.

Dwarf Euonymus: www.jparkers.co.uk/euonymus-fortunei-harlequin-0001955c

will the border not attract fsmp being so close to the house wall

*damp