I have been trying to find a flower for the front of my border that will complement the other, larger plants. I have settled on asters but I'd like to limit the height to 2' or less which limits the choices to dumosus or pyrethrum. Another reason I have settled on these choices is that they come in pink, red and white which fits in perfectly with my color scheme.

I searched the web and found very few mail order companies which sell these, none with 3 or more colors, except for the pyrethum which is probably too tall. Sometimes though, I find out that the reason is that they are very common at retail centers. Is that the case with these asters?

Here are a couple of links (the pyrethrum is probably to tall)-

http://www.vanmeuwen.com/times/plant/41820
http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/PYMIS.html?id=MHcqxTRb&mv_pc=2842

Also, I'm fairly new to perennials. My strategy to have 9 months or so of color is to plant bulbs such as anemones, tulips and Ranunculus for spring (most likely treated as annuals) in between the asters. I believe asters die back in the winter, right so by early spring is there anything left of the asters above ground to detract from the bulb blooms(or can they be cut down)? And of course to prevent overcrowding I know I'll probably have to divide the asters every year.

Thanks