After 20 years, I'm somewhere close to getting a garden I'm happy with but I now need to undo a plant choice I made 20 years ago: Alchemilla Molis.
The problem:
I need a plant that provides the benefit of Alchemilla Molis (good ground coverage, attractive foliage for a long period) but without the downsides (invasive, laborious dead-heading, sprawls over the lawn) for the front of a border that is a better fit for my colour scheme (I really don't like the lime green flower heads).
Note: in the picture the day lilies and perovskia are not yet in bloom and the alliums, tulips, cherry blossom and clematis have been and gone; there are some red leaf heuchera at the front swamped by the alchemilla.
I want a perennial plant or low growing shrub with a lot of long lasting white flowers to 'lift' the whole planting scheme, low enough to plant in a mass at the front of the border.
In my front garden I have Hydrangea Runaway Bride, which would be ideal for this job if I could keep it small (eventual height I believe is 1.2m/4 ft, which is too high.) Would it be possible to keep it small? Or is there an alternative that does the same job?
The front of the border gets a fair amount of sun (west facing garden); soil is clay but it's been improved for 20 years so is pretty friable; location is Gloucestershire, England. I would expect to water plants until they're well established, but hope not to do afterward -- that border has never dried out in 20 years.