Most contributors here are in the US. Can you provide your location? I'm guessing you're in the UK.

What were the plants that didn't work and why? You do need to tell us where you are because here, looking nice year round requires evergreens. But, I suspect you're not American, given your spelling of curb. In which case, are you thinking of a garden within a front yard that is mainly lawn? Or do you want your front yard to be all garden? If the former, we need a better picture of where you want garden.

I'd put in some foundation plantings. I like rhodos and azaleas, but I had an evergreen Camellia when I lived in England and admired Daphnes.

I'm in the UK. There is a rectangular flower bed behind the wall followed by lawn. There was a bad hydrangea that never flowered nicely despite me adding hydrangea fertiliser. The other plants only struggled because of some crocosmia took over before we arrived so we've taken everything out and want to start again.

Just a note on nomenclature. OP is asking about the whole space outside the houe. In UK English that is all 'garden'. There is no use of the word 'yard' to mean less cultivated outdoor space. So the post is asking about all the space, including the grass.

I would want to know why the Hydrangea was 'bad'. They are generally trouble free and easy to grow. What was the problem? Did you perhaps prune it at the wrong time? Were you expecting blue and got pink, or vice versa?

I'm going to guess that perhaps you're in the south west given the trouble with Crocosmia. The suggested rhododendrons and azaleas would only work if you don't have alkaline soil. I can't grow them at all. And what is the big shrub on the right? Do you want to keep it?

Well, in the US, "yard" is the whole space. "Garden" is the part with flowers and decorative plants and "lawn" is grass. I was trying to figure out what she wanted help with.

That said, I think we need a better picture of the garden. It's really hard to see. Roses grow well in England, so I'd probably start with some climbers on tuteurs. That will get you some height.

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This is a very popular picture that could be the source of inspiration, except you replace the fence with 3 white tuteurs. Pink roses, purple salvia, some catmint and what looks like lady's mantle.

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You could do a yellow/orange scheme to match your house with yellow roses, your crocosema, peachy poppies, yellow/orange coneflowers and some golden grass. Maybe some short red hot pokers.

What I like about this pic is it gives a structure for you own choices. A climber on a fence or tuteur, shorter plants in a 2 shades of a coordinating color (the purple) and on in a contrasting color.

I understand the difference between yard and garden in the US. I was just trying to explain that since the OP is in the UK they're using garden to mean all their outdoor space. So that's what they want ideas for.

I would not recommend Crocosmia. It's an invasive nuisance over here. That said, they're likely to reappear of their own accord as they're very hard to eradicate. Also Echinacea is quite difficult to grow well here.

My first move would be to clear all the trimmings and junk and spend time improving the soil in the front bed and defining it with a clean cut edge. And unless the big shrubs is something good I'd probably lose that too. Then, to keep things simple in such a small space, I might simply put in a hedge of Escallonia. It is evergreen, disease free, floriferous and low maintenance.

I will take a picture from the other side tomorrow. I love the idea of three wooden pyramids and that planting scheme is so pretty

The hedge isn't pretty at all but it gives a bit of privacy to the main bedroom downstairs

Well, my point was that you can take the scheme shown in the fence picture and adapt it to your color scheme and plants that grow well for you. Since it consists of repeating elements and 4 basic elements, it's relatively easy to change it to meet your climate, soil, sun and other needs.

Since I live in Maine with a very shady yard, I get excited by exotic opportunities that you Brits have.

Some option

This is the border from the other side of the wall. We are clearing it out and starting from scratch with the border.

The hydrangea was healthy but the flowers were mostly green with some tiny pink petals and it was too big for the border.

If the Hydrangea was green it was due to the age of the flowers. They changed colour through the season.

You'll need to thoroughly clean out the Crocosmia and Ivy and dig out the Buddleja roots before replanting.

Are you removing the giant shrub that blocks half the house and yard? Or do you need it for privacy or to block a view?

Is the white door on the left side of the house your front/main entry way?

If yes, consider a door color, flower pots, etc. that bring attention to it.

The hedge on the right overpowers the house. What type is it? Judging from the lower level window to the left of it, you could give it a good pruning (depending on type) to reduce height/width while maintaining the bedroom privacy.

What do you want out of your garden? Other than looking good year round. I'd probably put in some evergreens for height close to the outer wall on the road side, and some flowers for color on the house side in that front bed. And also add in another bed along the wood fence side for edibles. Maybe put in a dwarf fruit tree in the grass of the garden for the sake of the fruit and perhaps a bit of privacy replacement for that large shrub.

The white door on the left is certainly not the main entrance. The front door will be on the right hidden by the giant shrub.

There are no measurements given but this front garden will be really quite small with insufficient space for a large number of different features.

Imo the first priority is to clear the space of all the junk, the invasive Crocosmia corms and the Buddleja stump. The ivy, while not an invasive species, also needs to be eradicated if anything is to grow successfully in the wall bed.