there are loads of plants to chose from. if you scroll to the bottom of the page and then click on C then select cottage garden plants and you will find lots of plants to chose from.

personally I like oriental poppies, delphiniums, bearded iris, penstemons, foxgloves, scabious, phlox to name a few i grow.

Hi Kate nothing is fool proof in gardening you will win some and loose some.
I think how well you prepare the site is also important before planting. I also grow the above and would add (for you to consider?) Erysimum (perennial wallflowers) Hardy Geraniums, Dahlias, Aqualiga and Allium 'purple sensation' and Anemone De Caen and finallly Asters (for late summer colour).
Why not visit a garden near you open to the public that has flower beds to look at and you can see how planting arrangements work or not.
Its a good idea to identify your soil type and conditions and choose plants to flower at different months of the summer, you might like to plant spring bulbs to?
When I started my first garden I used to walk around the area to see what others were growing and if I liked them.

...that's a damned good answer, Drc!

You can, sooo, tell what what's possible from what your neighbours have flourishing!

Thanks Karen, it helped me a lot in starting my first garden.

thankyou this have been very helpfull :)