Do you mean 10 feet long or ten feet high? (ie is it tall enough for things like clematis and climbing roses?

The first thing I would do is to widen the border. You can achieve very little in one as narrow as that, particularly as you want structure - were you thinking of shrubs for that? The last thing you want is to plant shrubs, even small ones, very close to a boundary wall where they will have no room to develop properly.

It would really help if you could take a couple of photos of the border and add them to your question.
Does the border get sun most of the day or just in the morning?

IN the meantime why not get a couple of pots or troughs and plant some bright begonias to give you some bright colour all summer while you're waiting? They should do well West facing, and you can save the corms for next year when they've finished.

Unless it is really nicely weathered brickwork, I would paint the wall first and definitely paint the fence before you put anything in front. Then, as Steragram suggests, if you can, increase the width of the bed.
The wall will hold quite a bit of heat so you could plant things that may be a bit more tender but 1 ft width is probably not going to support much. Depending on the soil type and drainage you could take a look at Mediterranean plants that don't need a great deal of fertility but would appreciate the warmth and shelter of the wall.

Well, painting the wall is a matter of personal taste really - I wouldn't!

If you can give more information we might be able to help more.