Almost all flowers will do will with just 6 hours of sun and an east facing spot is super because you can avoid that very hot late afternoon sun.

I think the choices are wide open for you.

Consider clematis. They love east sun and come in gorgeous shades of purple.

You will want more than just purple, it will look good to mix a few other colors in....white, pink, yellow?

It would probably be good to mix annuals and perennials to give you long-term color. Is this the front of the house? Side?

Here's a few suggestions

Columbines (perennial, short lived, early spring)
Purple coneflower (perennial, not really purple, more pink)
Becky Shasta Daisies (I like the Becky's versus plain, perennial)
daylilies (perennials, rainbow of colors, beware of orange ditchlilies!)
peonies (perennials, takes a few years to get going)
elephant ears (bulb, not reliably perennial)

I'm adding a link to pictures of my garden. The Yard Shots album might give you some ideas, especially the shots with the curved path, that's my east facing bed.

Lisa

Here is a link that might be useful: Lisa's Garden

You didn't say if the house is rented or owned. Usually makes a difference how much money you want to spend. And how wide is the bed. Where are you located. Central Ok has more alkaline soils than eastern. This will make a difference in the shrubs that will do well.

For a short term garden in a rented house, you may want to stick to annuals and cheaper perrenials. Lisa's list is perrenials.

Violets can be invasive.

Hydrangeas do well on the east, and there are new reblooming cultivars, spring and then fall. Azaleas also do well on the east. Most bloom only in the spring.

For season long color, four o'clocks are great.

I would stick in some summer annuals. Purple and white petunias, gomphrena, zinnias, periwinkle etc. It's a bit early for the tender ones. Pansies are available right now and will do well. They also come in purple but they will fade out in hot weather.

Malerie: You might contact TulsaBrian, apparently he has purple queen that he could share :)

If you are doing this on a budget, and I assume you are :), look around for plants that people will share. There are a few you need to watch out for, and we can probably help you with that, but it's an easy way to get a mix of plants to fill an area.

I hear some people list plants on Free Cycle, you might look there too.

Lisa

I think you would first need to clear out the dead grass and weeds and dig it up. The shrubs may not be dead; I would find out what they are and if they are alive. They may just need some pruning. I would buy annuals that you like when they start appearing in the garden centers. Or you could start some indoors now. From your description, getting rid of weeds and grass will improve the look. Annuals are easier to keep the weeds out of because at the end of the season you can dig it all up. If you are sure you have the bermuda and weeds with big roots out, then you can add perennials.

if you have room for one more opinion, I'd definitely say iris and daylilies... plant the other annuals in front of them. That way you have a no fuss flower bed and if you are renting, you can take the bulbs with you. They'll multiple every year, so if you are on a budget, start small and spread them out next year. The other flowers you can do from seed, if you clean up the bed now. Get your bulbs in, then around April 10th mix seed with some miracle grow and sprinkle it over the top. I say 'miracle grow' only because its an easy way to disperse tiny seeds evenly and helps hide them from the birds.