Bedding flowers

Hi guys, I am new around here so hope I've posted this in the right place.
Me and my fiancée have been in our 1st house around 10 months now. We have pretty much transformed the back garden and now before the summer disappears we are working on the front.
Basically we have a about a foot wide flower bed under the front window. The same again alongside of the drive way and we are going to be doing the same again around the edge of the front lawn.
She is wanting some kind of short bright and colourful bedding flowers which will return each year... any suggestions?

Cheers Liam

 

Wow! Cheers!
I like the look of the Geranium varieties, I will look into those this evening.
The soil can be pretty much anything as I've cleared out the beds from the previous owners as there was a lot of weeds and horrible bark.
I was thinking a mixture of top soil which I have spare from the back garden and some MPC but to be honest I don't have much idea when it comes to soil type haha.
As for sun/shade it is pretty my h in full sun until mid afternoon.
We are in a small village called Ferrybridge near Pontefract, Wakefield, West Yorkshire.