Reluctant to make recommendations for planting without knowing which direction the border faces (north, east) and whether it gets sun all day or no sun at all, and what the depth of the border is from front to back.

Hi
The border faces north and is exposed, thus getting the majority of the sun all day. The border is about 2ft wide and about 15ft long.
Thanks

North facing (which means shade in winter by the way) and exposed is not a great situation for Japanese Acer, which does not like windy, exposed spots. As the border is only 2 feet deep, it will be difficult to achieve anything that looks really interesting because you'll have to plant in a row as its not wide enough. To achieve height, it might be better to put in some columnar growth type shrubs, such as Berberis Red Pillar, and one or two of the columnar conifers. Quite a few Hebes are not fully hardy, so choose carefully or they won't make it through the winter. Euonymus is a good idea, as long as its not fully exposed to freezing winds in winter, which the evergreen varieties don't appreciate too much, although the deciduous ones are fine with it. Skimmia and Sarcococca varieties would be useful there too - for berries on Skimmia, you will need male and female plants, and it prefers acidic conditions, as does Pieris, another one worth considering, but choose one of the smaller varieties. Photinia LITTLE Red Robin is another one to think about.

Thanks Bamboo ;-)