Wonderful suggestions, gardengal. Thank you. I never even heard of x Halimiocistus. Abelias were already pretty high on my list of potential candidates especially that they do come now in more compact sizes. I do not mind pruning but I would rather stay away from shrubs that want to be really large and look best untouched. Is Choisya a woody plant or more succulent? And doesn't it have a wonderful scent? That would be nice as I am a huge fan of scented plants and especially scented white flowers!

The choisya is indeed a woody shrub. I prefer the hybrid as it doesn't get nearly as large as the species and tends also to have a much heavier bloom. It IS fragrant but I think the most intense fragrance comes when the foliage or flowers are brushed or crushed rather than just wafting on the air.

If scent is a strong factor, you could always consider one of the summer blooming daphnes, like D. x transatlantica 'Eternal Fragrance' or 'Summer Ice'. But these tend not be exactly fully evergreen, losing a percentage of their foliage in winter (harder the winter, the more foliage dropped). These are very tolerant of a more sunny than not location and the reflected heat of the south/west facing aspect may limit winter leaf drop also.

Oh my goodness, I forgot about Daphnes! I love Daphnes and I have a wonderful shrub of 'Eternal Fragrance'. How could I forget? Mine stays truly evergreen and has a perfect rounded shape. I never prune it because it doesn't need it. That might be my number one candidate! Thank you so much, Gardengal!

'Kaleidoscope' is variable, I have seen it with quite tall growth - as in shooting nearly straight up - in boxes at a local outlet. So I wouldn't count on it where low growth is required. Also the variegation is often kind of murky, at least at some times of the year.

Deer like to browse an 'Edward Goucher' I planted on Camano Island. I was going to suggest dwarf Indian hawthorn - which seems to get used a lot on sunny walls here - but it being a rose family thing might be liked by deer, I suppose.

If you can fence deer out of the equation things really open up for you. I have had the daphne by the front door for a few years, I planted it in sandy soil - with daphnes you have to dodge root rot. The site is open to the south and west, with paving and a house wall nearby.

It smells good but I have to bend down to it to get it.

I got home with Choisya 'Aztec Pearl'. They didn't have Daphnes and all their Abelias were variegated and I do not care about that kind of variegation.

Deer basically live in my yard and have always been so getting rid of them would be rather hard. I hope they will leave that Choisya alone. Tomorrow I start digging.

Thank you both for ideas.