advice for interesting flower beds please!

i have flowerbeds around my house which are currently empty and need to be made beautiful. we are planning on putting down fabric to stop weeds growing and bark or stone chippings as i like gardening but want the flower beds to be low maintenance at least to start with as we have a large decked area and i am more interested in container gardening and also starting a vegetable patch. anyway... i like the idea of lavender for the smell but wondered what else will could i plant? i want perennials, or all year round type plants, they don't have to have flowers just look good!