British Gardeners: Do you favor annuals like Zinnias, Asters and Marigolds, or are you "perreniel" types.?

I am not a good gardener and can never remember the names of anything. After nearly 10 years of living in the same house (with an inherited mature garden), I have finally decided to try to get the garden sorted. It looks lovely in spring when the lilac tree is in bloom and the bluebells are out, but the rest of the year it looks a bit bland. This year I finally planted some daffodil bulbs and some summer flowering bulbs (all I know is that they should be purple!), but few of the summer ones have come up (I make my own compost and also use a feed in the summer). I do have lots of pots, but in the past, I have tried marigolds and they come into bloom and get eaten, so I have given those up. My plant of ease is purple pansies. I have them in window boxes on the front window sill and in pots in the back garden. I am getting there. The jasmine climber has finally flowered this year and it is looking slightly better than it used to. Next year I will try to plant more bulbs and see if they come up. I usually find that just as it is beginning to look good, we either have a hot spell where everything frazzles or a very wet spell where everything drowns.