Light and soil conditions?

morning sun (from about 7am to 12pm). It's a small plant bed and the soil has good drainage with lots of compost worked in.

Thanks!

Well, I would use a small variety Japanese Maple in that application- easy to keep under control and quite malleable aesthetically. But I would not center it in that small bed as it will obscure the lovely scrolling and block the porch.
I'd plant something on each end and fill in the middle.

Have you any preferences as to shape, height, color, blooms etc.?
You've gotta narrow it down some, it's a wide open field here! Surely you have some preferences?

I would suggest dwarf conifers in the entire bed- if that is the front of the home (as it seems) then I would not use anything deciduous. It's an important spot and not to be wasted during the winter months IMO.

"... if that is the front of the home (as it seems) then I would not use anything deciduous. It's an important spot and not to be wasted during the winter months IMO."

That's a curious "take" that I've heard expressed in various ways before on the forum. In fact, I think once--long ago--I held the sentiment ... but now don't. I find that many of the deciduous plants provide the greater interest and that sometimes evergreens pale in comparison. Once there becomes sufficient "twigginess," the bark coloration, form and style becomes important and there is even some degree of ghost-like screening or view filtering from deciduous plants. And deciduous plants offer bloom that outdoes most evergreens (depending.) Sometimes there's a dried floral or fruit display that lasts a long time. There's lots to find interesting about deciduous plants, even in the winter time.

In this particular case, I, too, would not place a featured plant in the center. I'd place it in front of the right quarter of the railing (where it abuts the garage) and place the lower plants at remaining 3/4 of the rail. A low, seasonal flowering "mat" (8" height or less) could be next to the entrance to the stoop.

Wow. What great suggestions. Just to answer a few of your questions, that is the front of my house. My wife and I do enjoy sitting out there with our steaming mugs of coffee, so nothing too tall. In the past, we had an ornamental peach tree that grew about 6 ft tall, but it's branches jutted out over the sidewalk forcing people to walk on the grass to get around it. I just recently transplanted it.

How deep is the flower bed? If you plant a tree, the roots could eventually damage your porch and foundation. A shrub might be a better choice.

There is nothing beneath it but more dirty and clay.