How about fatsia(large palmate leaves) , viburnum tinus (long flowering season) euonymus (good leaf colour and climbing/scrambling habit)or rhododendrons for a splash of colour.The first two are easily pruned to keep compact.

Thanks for the advice Dgw, I'm a complete novice in gardening but really want to make a picture of my little front garden, perhaps even one day showing a picture of it! Thanks again, much appreciated.

Those are all shrubs and most will grow quite wide eventually - you will probably want some herbaceous perennials too for showy flowers so don't plant all of them, so you will have room for some flowers too. As you say you are a complete beginner I would go for annuals this year. What you choose depends on how much sun you get later on in the day - how early does it go into shadow?

dog wood looks nice any time of year in different ways .