Bulbs like daffodils, tulips, grape hyacinths etc all work very well in containers. They will come into the shops fairly soon and make a lovely splash of colour when nothing else much is happening in spring. Plant tulips later in the autumn eg November, daffs can go in earlier. Check the flowering months when you buy to get a good spread over the season - the ones that have gone over can be moved somewhere out of the way when they have finished flowering - but keep them in the light and water if its a dry spring, the leaves are feeding the bulbs for next year's flowers.
Some pansies and violas flowere through the winter - or at least, late into the autumn and early in the spring. (Its cold where i live so they do pause in midwinter here). Again they will appear in the shops/garden ventres in autumn. Usually loads of different colours to choose from. They can go in the containers on top of the bulbs.
Flowering alliums are also easy and spectacular - purple ones like purple sensation for example look very impressive!
Agree with pp that roses tend to be pretty tough and are rewarding but will need to go in the ground unless miniature.
Take not of the amount of sun where a plant is going - some plants need quite a bit to do well, others are more tolerant of shade. Veg tend to all need lots of sunshine except the leafy things like spinach which are ok where its shadier.
If you are planting into the bed the best thing you can do right now is to remove any weeds that might be left to flower and set seed. As and when it eventually rains, time spent clearing deeper rooted weeds like dandelions, dock etc will be time very well spent.
A couple of sacks of manure (sometimes horse owners give it away) on the bed will really help make the soil softer and richer for whatever you do want to plant, but don't do this until the ground has been properly wetted ( nor just a little shower, a proper wet week or two) and you have weeded a few times.
Once it rains (eventually 😬😬) a whole lot of new weeds will probably spring up, so that's the time to remove them!
Then if you want to put flowers in that bed perennials and (more!) bulbs can go in in the autumn, as can shrubs, but if veg, then really you're better covering the whole bed with manure (and even weighted down cardboard if you can bear the sight of it!) to suppress the weeds over winter, then getting started in the spring.
Every garden is trial and error. Only when you start will you find out what does well and what your local pests like eating. So don't be discouraged when some of the things you plant die or disappear - it happens to all of us and you can just see it as an opportunity to try something else 😄
Good luck and have fun!