Some plant ideas please

I have a large area of garden that I want to try and sort out.I am not terribly 'plant minded' lolI would like plants that dont grow too tall, but bush out a bit, flower nicely (prefer if there were some plants that would flower in different season so I had flowers most of the year if that makes sense) and that when the flowers are gone are still nice and green.

Please could you give me some ideas on what would be good - Oh and I live in Christchurch.

TIA!

You sound like me! When I shifted into my house there was no garden and I wanted it to look nice all year round, low maintenance and smell lovely. I've gone for a Princess Alice rhodo and a Frangmatissima rhodo, a weeping Japanese maple (looks beautful even when leaves have dropped, a somanthus delavayi (tea olive) which is really tough, evergreen and smells divine, a snowball verburnum, jasmine on the ugly fence, a lemon tree and a kaffir lime, some roses - my garden is starting to look lovely - just ask the trader before you buy and most are fabulously helpful!

Before you decide on plantings-what sort of area do you want to plant!dry!shady!damp! is the soil clay!loam!sandy!-open!a windy site!
Get some books from the library,
A NZ book worth checking out is The Dry Garden by Jane Taylor there's a great English gardener Rosemary Verey, 2 of her better books is The Flower Arranger's Garden + Good Planting.
You can use her schemes as a basis she gives detailed plans of different gardens-back copies of NZ Gardner + Weekend Gardner + get an idea of what you want. Keep an exercise book + jot down notes re things that you like.draw up a plan-there are some garden design sites on line
Go forwalk in your area + look at the gardens/plantings!take photos! you need a plan. Go for trees, then shorter shrubs-clumps of green leafed things like reinga lilies- hellebores- hostas foliage plants-+ look at what looks good together.
It's like doing a flower arrangement, BUT you need to do your homework before planting willy-nilly. You can often pick up good plants at school galas/op shops/ markets-but you need to know what you are looking for. too

We are near Christchurch, we have rhododendrons in the cooler/shadier parts of the garden as well as Hydrangeas.For the drier, sunnier parts I have herbs, lots of roses, lemon balm, sages of varying types and what have you.I really like to be able to eat plants if I can, so we have lemon trees (but in Christchurch you can't really plant them out in the garden as they need frost protection and a pot that you can bring inside is better).

Truly, you would be best to pay for a couple of hours of a landscaper's time, so they can give you an idea of what would work best in your location given your experience level and how much effort you want to put in. Otherwise take a walk around your neighbourhood for plants you like and are growing well, take a photo and get them identified so you can obtain some of them.

+1
BUT there's landscapers & 'landscape designers'.
A concept plan is a damned good investment for a new gardener.
#1 . run your ideas past a good landscape 'designer' & they could come up with a few ideas for a planting plan suitable for your area & you can always alter it & it won't cost a bomb.

Than you so much for all your ideas - very much appreciated.I have some homework to do now :-)