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First time planting a flower garden... any tips?

We just bought our first house and I want to plant a flower garden. What are some low maintenance pretty flowers? Annuals maybe? Can you give us any suggestions and other tips?? Thank you so much in advance!

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1. I'd stick with filling up the flower bed with perennials ( they come back every year ) add a few annuals as desired sprinkle Preen to help with preventing weeds ask any DYI employee for help choosing whats the best plants for your area, zone, temperature
2. Here' s a list I found online: Peony (Paeonia) zones 3-8 Siberian Iris (Iris sibirica) zones 3-8 Daylily (Hemerocallis) zones 3-8 Bulb lily (Lilium) zones 3-8 Black eyed Susan (Rudbeckia "Goldsturm") zones 3-8 Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) zones 3-8 Cranesbill (Geranium) zones 5-8, some hardy to zone 3 Stonecrop (Sedum) zones 3-8 http://flowergardens.suite101.com/article.cfm/eight_great_perennials
3. First you need to find out if it is sunny or shady where you are planting the annuals. Sun annuals: geraniums, marigolds, gerbera daisy, coleus, zinnias, cosmos. Shade annuals: begonias and impatiens. If it is hot thent he flower may need water daily. Check them to make sure if they need water or not. I use cedar mulch around the flowers to hold in moisture.
4. Best choice for annuals is snapdragons, they bloom from spring thru fall. Some of the newer petunias like the smaller types since they don't need deadheading constantly like the older variety does. Pansies are nice but they can come back next year and if you don't get it all out in the fall they become invasive the next year and don't flower. I love sunflowers also and none of them take a lot of water. Perennials I like are Blanket flower, coneflowers, coreopsis and black eyed susans for sunny areas. Hostas are good for shade areas but not a lot of color on them. Put in flower bulbs for spring color but you have to hold off planting them till the fall for the spring bulbs. As for keeping weeds down once you plant your plants, use newspaper, wet down, and then put a thin layer of mulch down over it, much cheaper than the landscape carpet stuff and it will break down over time and not hurt the soil. If you are planting a larger bed, try putting a soaker hose around and through it to save money on watering and it lets the water get to the plants roots without dripping on the plants themselves. One other thing, don't go out to buy plants thinking that you have to have a formal design for the bed, because you don't. Try it out for a year, if you don't like it or need to move stuff around then move it the next year. Make it what you like and not what is supposed to be nice for everyone else. Once you start to enjoy seeing the plants come up in the spring you know you are hooked on flowers. Hope this helps!!!