Ideas for filling bare soil and adding a garden centrepiece

[aliumbear]

I've got a small, long garden. There's a tree at the very end. I've got hedging around the garden. I dug a boarder Infront of the hedge and put in newly planted shrubs in it.
The shrubs are small right now and will grow to be much bigger however that will take years and in the meantime there is a lot of bare soil and I've got no idea what to do about that.
I also want a centre piece in the middle, but I've already got a pond on the other side so I don't want a water feature and another tree isn't really suitable as they'd be too close together.

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Have you looked at Persian/Islamic/paradise gardens? (same thing, naming varies) They're usually long, divided in quarters with a central path. How about a statue? A big raised pot? Or bird feeders on a pole?
For the bare soil I'd plant whatever takes your fancy, we'll be more helpful here if you tell us how sunny it gets and what your soil is like. You could do a different colour in each quarter. I'd get perennials to save yourself from buying lots every year. Or annual/biennial if you think the shrubs will be much larger in 1-2 years.

Re birds, March-October it should only be feeders of mealworms, fatballs or suet.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/news/how-to-help-garden-birds

I’d cover the bare soil with bark to prevent weeds while you’re considering, then fill with annual (cosmos, nigella) and perennial (hardy geraniums, salvia, penstemon) for colour. Come autumn I’d throw in a load of spring bulbs. In the centre, I’d go for a sun dial surrounded by a circle of lavender or nepeta.