How about early/mid/late flowering spring bulbs like snowdrops, crocuses, tulips, daffodils, grape hyacynths, etc. summer flowering low growing edging plants in the front and shrubs or vines on trellis in the back ground, and late summer/fall flowering phlox, rudbeckias, gaillardias, asters, and/or salvias, as well as self-seeding annuals like cosmos and four o'clocks in clumps in between?
(all depends on exposure and watering, of course, I'd say this is an example of a sunny garden)
Combinations with spring bulbs work better with shallower, fibrous rooted perennials I think. (My tulips herald the spring in my strawberry patch.

) You could probably bury some deep planted lily bulbs in there too (Though elsewhere in my garden,
I'm losing all my lily bulbs to some kind of burrowing critter, maybe chipmuks.

)
The key here, though is to have a well-prepared garden bed with LOTS of organic matter if you expect it to work so hard, and to replenish with good compost every year.
You know what, this isn't really what you asked, but I'm going to toss it in: This may be obvious, but my "ah! ha!" moment

was when I decided to group plants in beds based on their basic care needs. I now have a bed each of "moist shade garden", "dry shade garden", "sunny meadow garden", "sunny bog garden" and "desert rock garden" of mixed annuals and perennials. I'm planning a "kitchen door-side herb and strawberry garden", "apple/pear/juneberry orchard" and a few others that are still under consideration
