What you can plant in the area now is determined by 2 things…how much sun or shade the area gets and what is available at the garden center. Time to start reading the tags on the plants at the garden center. Taller plants in the back of the bed, shorter ones in front just like the class photo. Bear in mind that what is available at the garden center are spring/summer flowering perennials and late summer/fall blooming plants will be available at the end of the season. Spring flowering perennial bulbs like daffodils, tulips and others are planted in fall so don’t forget them. Consider this more of a hobby for a couple of years rather than a project that needs to be done in a hurry and you’ll enjoy it more an have better results. Road salt will be a problem…plants can’t tolerate much of that. Snow on them isn’t a problem though.