My ASB hydrangea are taller than 3 feet - more like 4 feet, and that's after they have died back all the way to the ground every winter. They are also kind of ratty looking until they have fully leafed out, so you might want to think about whether you use your patio during the non-growing season much. If you do want to plant them in front still, my foxgloves are shorter than the ASB hydrangeas. If there's enough light you can check out Eremerus (AKA foxtail lily), some of the taller Allium bulbs, or early spring flowering clematis which can grow on a trellis or obelisk, and may also grow into your hydrangea some.

Unless the outbreak is very severe, I would not bother to treat for cercospora in a home garden. This tends to be primarily a nursery issue and most plants in the landscape will outgrow it. Just practice good sanitation and avoid overhead watering. Immunox is registered for this purpose (control of cercospora leaf spot) so I would not see the need to use a copper based fungicide as well. FWIW, I work in a nursery and bring home various unsalable or returned plants and nurse them back to health. Without exception all of those hydrangeas that have been afflicted with cercospora leaf spot show no sign of it the following season. The above plant does look extremely chlorotic (but otherwise relatively healthy) and a fertilizer may be advised. Often, less acidic soils do not allow proper absorption of iron, one of the primary causes of chlorosis, and acid lovers would benefit from chelated iron or a fertilizer for acid loving plants. These typically have iron supplements included. FWIW, sun only until 1:30pm should not be too much, although SC sun is much more intense than mine up here in the PNW. Your plant does not show obvious evidence of scorch and if it is not wilting excessively, it is probably sited OK.

I am envious of those crape myrtles, though I'm not sure that I really want to go to the trouble of creating a spot to store them in the winter. I'm right now working in Alabama and they are everywhere. They bloom longer than I've been rotating through here (most of the summer), the bark on the trunks is lovely (and I noticed one yesterday with a trunk diameter of over a foot), and if they haven't been hacked off (an unfortunate occurance in many of them) they have a nice shape. From a distance they read a bit like lilacs, but up close the non-flowering parts are much nicer than lilacs. I notice that in both this set of images and the other set, you have lots of shrubs and small trees to give structure, flowers and interesting foliage to the garden, along with perennials. I really like the mixed border approach, both for the structure and color it adds to our new England winter landscape (as well as year-round) and also for how much easier it is to maintain than borders with just perennials, especially as I get older .

Crapola my links do not work. So sorry. Please copy and paste! Jo