I have a long border in sun and one of my favorite combinations in it is sedum (I have an old 18" sedum, like Autumn Joy but shorter, but would use Black Jack if I were redoing this) in front backed by perovskia blue spire (I have 6 sedum and 4 perovskia in my combo). This combo looks great essentially all year as I leave both standing over winter, then cut back in spring. As soon as their new growth starts they look good and they look wonderful in late summer/fall. In my case, the perovskia is backed by a wall of 10' high pruned junipers, but any not-too-light background would work well.

I have done well with sedum plants as well. I have a couple different varieties (don't know the different names, but I am pretty sure one of them is autumn joy, another has purple foliage and pink flowers, the other is a miniature with yellow flowers). I also do well with blue flax (linum perenne lewisii). They reseed very easily, but are very easy to pull up, and I love the delicae blue flowers. I also have hollyhocks, obedient plants, daisies (painted and shasta) that do well. This garden is a south facing garden against a red brick wall, and gets lots of heat.

Thanks so much for your advice, both of these combos sound good so will watch for these plants on sale around here.

Black eyed susans look stunning now and provide a green background the rest of the year. For a taller display, purple coneflowers look great in late summer and good the rest of the year. Japanese anenomes (pink) also do well in hot dry conditions, once they are established. But they may grow too large for you.

I also like lavenders. They come in various sizes and make good specimens or borders. They also smell wonderful when brushed against.

Daylillies can be an excellent choice, as long as you get one with a long blooming season.

There are a lot of tall grasses that withstand drought and heat and definitely give wow.

Don't forget spring flowering bulbs. There are multiplying tulips, members of the daffodil family and scillia that put on a good show and then disappear for the summer.

Dianthus, carnations, low growing nepata, small campanula species & any other rock garden plants. The red leaf Berberis shrub would look good also when clipped back. There are a lot of options for you! I envy you & your fresh space & border.
sam

A lot of very good suggestions so far. I'll add sempervivums (hens and chicks) to the suggestion pile. Monarda (bee balm) and Liatris have always done well for me in hot dry conditions.

BP

My front area is less than 9 ft square in in full hot sun. But it is packed with plants to provide a feel of an English Cottage garden. It also feels private despite that it happens to be in a busy street. Also I also think of a flower bouquet when I planted the yard. Some plants are spiky and brush types, some plants are large leafed, some plants are small and dainty. Second, I avoid as much as possible of setting plants in row which makes them look like soldiers.

Decide what kind of garden you'd like. Formal, semi formal, informal... Formals are like French and Japanese type gardens. Take inspiration from magazines and from looking in the web. See if it works out in your area. P. Allen Smith has especially good books to refer to.

I prefered an informal type given that I love organized 'chaos', and because my young daughter enjoys playing with the plants.

re the WOW factor. I always consider the location of the street, the front door, the walkway and the window. Use your sight lines to locate a space where you would like to plant your tallest plant, preferably what you would like to provide you with a feel for privacy. Then move on to design the rest of your garden. In other words, locate where your focal point should be and then the rest comes easy. You can plant as you will. And once you do plant, don't worry if later on you find that it;s not suitable for the area. It's only a plant and all you need to do is remove them.

Last, enjoy the process.... ohhh and start winter sowing so you can save money on plants for next season.

Ianna

Again such very great advice! Thanks so much..I do have liatris and bee balm on my list, Bonnie and am so looking forward to the winter sowing, Ianna and like you, I am not a 'formal' type so a formal garden look is not what I have in mind!!
Again thanks so much everyone!!
Brenda