Planting Flowers

Hello, I was wondering if some one could give me some pointers as to which flowers we could plant. I asked the question in the rock forum, but no one is answering.
Acouple of us ladies at church want to put some flowers next to the building. The area in question use to be part of the parking lot b4 we black topped it. The space is about 4 foot wide 70 feet long and 5 inches deep. gravel, weeds and grass have over taken the area, and the space can't be tilled because of the gravel.
When we get rid of the grass and weeds (we are working on that now) and bring in top soil to fill the area, what kind of plants (zone 5b) can we plant there that will grow with all that gravel underneath? The spot gets the morning sun and afternoon shade.
We are also going to buy some BIG (at least 3 foot high) pots to sit in this area, and fill them with flowers.
Any and all suggestions will be appreciated, Thanks Connie

Day Lilly's, day lilly's and more day lilly's! They are very hardy, drought tolerant, will take the heat from being right next to asphalt and they will grow (and spread a little each year) pretty much anywhere with little to no effort. Also, there's literally hundreds of different varieties to choose from with colors ranging from yellow to purple to white. And, I bet if you ask the congregation for a fan or two from their own yards you will have all the free lilly's you need. Have fun!

How much water with this area get? Is it under the eave of the building, is there irrigation available?

Morning sun -until noon? or morning sun only until 8am?

As far as the water goes, it seems to drain ok, it doesn't hold water. yes its under the eaves.

It gets the sun from morning to about 1 pm.

Thanks Connie

Plants under eaves don't get as much moisture...

so I am thinking quite a bit of sun ... but not full sun... somewhat dry with rocky hard soil underneath...

And because you posted this in the indigenous forum, I am assuming that you wanted native plants...

I would try the following:

Columbine, Aquilegia canadensis
Butterfly weed, Aclepias tuberosa
Cream False Indigo, Baptisia bracteata
New Jersey Tea, Ceanothus americanus
Purple Coneflower or Narrow leaf Purple Coneflower
Flowering Spurge, Euphorbia corollata
Wild Geranium, geranium maculatum
Great Solomon's Seal, Polygonatum canaliculatum
Western Spiderwort, Tradescantia occidentalis
Hoary Vervain, verbena stricta

Add some shorter grasses like Prairie Dropseed and Sideats Grama...

Thanks Joepyeweed, That really gives us quite a few to choose from :) Connie