Hi there! I can't say I'm an expert, but I've been a VA gardener for a lot of years, so I'll try to offer some suggestions.

For the front, for year-round interest you may want to consider a mix of small/med shrubs at the back to serve as the 'bones' of the bed, and then a mix of perennials and annuals towards the front. This is known as a mixed bed, and usually looks great with a good mix of foliage types, colors and shapes. You'll probably want to mix evergreen and deciduous shrubs for year round interest and foliage types, and may find that a small tree set towards one edge helps balance the bed. For both flowering and foliage, a mix of spring, summer and fall blooming perennials makes it interesting as the year progresses, but remember that perennials take a few years to get established. That's where Annuals come in - they're great at providing color spring to fall, and help to fill the gaps in a new garden while the perennials are growing in.

For the pathways, a fantastic perennial that stays evergreen, comes in various foliage colors, produces summer blooms and fall berries, and is almost impossible to accidentally kill here in VA is liriope. It can take drought and wet, fills in via runners so makes a lush display, and if it gets in the grass you just mow it along with the grass.

Re the roses along the fence - in this area, black spot and mildew are big problems, so if you don't want to have to spray poisons, be ready to look at a lush rosebush in the spring looking pretty bare of leaves by mid-summer. I hate to use poisons, and i do have roses, but I tuck them into mixed beds so the ravages of Black spot and such aren't so noticeable. How tall do you want the fence plants to be? Maybe a stand of mixed daylillies and companions would work there, with maybe a few flowering small bushes?

Regarding the specific perennials and bushes, the part of Va you live in makes a difference. Southern Va (Tidewater) is a full plant zone warmer than Northern Va (DC Metro). Up here in NoVa I can now grow peonies, where I could never get them to grow well in Tidewater, but there are some bushes I grew in Tidewater that won't live through the winter here in NoVa, too. In general, the bushes and such at Lowes and Home Depot are usually good picks for your climate, but be sure to read the label to verify that it's rated for your area - I've seen them sell tender perennials in spring that I know won't live through winter.

Good luck with your garden , but be warned - gardening can quickly become a healthy obsession! :-)