Suggestions on hearty flowering plants for newbie gardener

Hi Everyone! I'm starting a garden and unsure where to begin when it comes to choosing the right plants. I'd like a flowering garden and a few friends suggested Begonias, Petunias and Zinnias as easy to care for and grow. Are any of these plants able to survive the winter or will I have to pull them up when the weather gets cold? I was hoping to find a pretty flowering plant that I could leave in the ground and not have to store - am I dreaming?

My garden is about 6ft long and 2 feet wide. I'd like to fill up the space and make it colorful with plants that are easy to care for and not too costly. I live in Washington state where we get plenty of rain, but the summers can be very hot and warm weather can sometimes last into October. Winters can be wet and icy, but snow doesn't stay too long where I am. I"ve read that fertiziling is important and using mulch helps a lot. I'm learning so I don't make a mess of this and kill my garden. Any suggestions and info on care would be appreciated from veteran gardeners out there...thank you all!!

Unless you have your location listed wrong, I hate to tell you this but your summers are not hot! I don't think my summers are that bad (most of the time at least!), and my average summer highs are about 12 degrees higher than yours, and there are plenty of areas in the south and southwest with average summer highs 10-20 degrees higher than mine. So I don't think you need to factor in heat as a consideration at all with the plants you can grow.

There are plenty of plants you can grow that would meet your requirements, but you may have to look beyond your original list. Petunias are annuals almost anywhere except the very warmest climates, as are the zinnias that you'll commonly find at garden centers and in seed packets. Some begonias would be annuals for you as well, but I think there'll be some that would survive your winters. Begonia grandis is a nice one http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/722/ Wax begonias are a little more borderline but might make it, especially if you have a sheltered area http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/209/ Beefsteak begonias would be hardy as well http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/62923/ This'll probably be easier if I just give you the list of begonias from Plant Files and you can see what will work for you (depending on how far inland you are, you're either in zone 8a or 8b, so anything that survives at least to 8a should be fine for you) http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=begonia&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search

There are lots and lots and lots (literally hundreds and hundreds) of other perennials that will do just fine for you, so it would help if you could give us an idea of what your yard is like and what sort of flowers you like (besides of course the ones you just mentioned), what colors, do you like a cottage look or more formal. Do you have sunny areas? Shady areas? What's already planted there? Etc.

If you're in Seattle, your zone is 7b. If you go to garden.org, click Plant Finder on the left...search by zone, type of plant, etc. Once the search finishes, there are options on the right to narrow the search and sort the results. I recommend the Phlox, because it's pretty and attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.

As far as purchasing plants, bloomingbulb.com has some pretty decent deals.