I have a small border garden at the front of my house that is quite honestly a mess. It's SE facing and gets sun until about 2:00 pm, drains well, and has sandy loam soil.

I moved here from Canada about 15 years ago...and had no idea what grew well so it was trial and error. Unfortunately a few tall plants decided they liked the garden (hardy hibiscus, cannas, yucca and a mess of prickly pear) and so all ensuing plants planted were tall. I don't like the look at all. The plants don't complement each other and they are too tall for the area. I'm planning to dig them all up in the next few weeks and plant anew ( I will be offering them on the exchange if anyone wants them).

Plants that have thrived in this space are: Hardy Hibiscus, Texas Sage, Turks Cap, Obedience Plants, Coneflower, Four O'clocks, Canna's, Yucca, Prickly Pear, Ruella and Blue/Black Salvia.

Though I like some of the above plants, with the exception of the ruella they are all too tall. Can someone suggest what shorter perennials would grow with similar likes to the plants listed above and that will give me color through the seasons.

The bed is L shaped with the long side of the L being about 15 feet long and the short side about 6 feet. It's about 3 1/2 feet in depth and is backed by a brick wall (so can get toasty). Also I live in the country and so have to deal with a lot of grasshoppers so I prefer plants that grasshoppers don't like! The garden is surround by a little cedar rail fence about 12" high that keeps my dogs out so the plants should be taller than 12".

I love the look of Richards border garden in the first picture of this post:

Pinkie Yard

I have a society garlic I'd like to plant along with a couple of daylilies in this space. I'm thinking a fall aster would be nice for fall color. I'd like plants that would carry me through the seasons so nice foliage would be a bonus. What would you suggest? Photo's of your border gardens would be greatly appreciated.