Dwarf yaupon holly is a nice shrub - especially when not pruned into a meatball shape. It stays nicely rounded mostly on it's own. Course it doesn't have much in the way of flowers or fall color - and I'm not sure if it berries or if they are just cultivating male plants for the dwarf form.

Regarding sun exposure - plan for the worst and get a shrub that is labeled "full sun". When you say they are in full sun in the summer from 10-11 am ... when does the sun move away? By 2 pm? If so, the area is protected from the harsh afternoon sun and you can add some other shrubs like dwarf mountain laurel ('Elf' is very small). If the sun is there past 2, then nevermind.

I assume this is the front of the house and property so looks are important? You could put dwarf yaupon as a base and then add sun loving herbaceous perennials for seasonal interest. Dwarf daylilies would be nice and totally hidden in the winter.

Thanks! Yes, they are in full sun from 10-11 until sunset in the middle of summer. It's that north with just a little west exposure that's killing me. Very inconsistent as the sun moves farther north in its path during the summer.

It is indeed the front of the house. I have some boxwoods in front of the porch, where they can be a little taller (Winter Green is supposed to only get 4-6 feet tall, according to the tag). I will definitely have daylilies! I have some already. Love them - very tolerant of all conditions - light, soil, etc. I will also add some other pernnials.

Evergreen is good, and I will check into the Yaupon hollies. I would like to have a bit of a mix, though, instead of a row of all the same, so I'd love other sugestions from anyone on additional shrubs to mix in!

Other full sun evergreen shrubs include dwarf wax myrtles ('Suwannee Elf' is one) and 'Rose Creek' Abelia (a 2005 Georgia Gold Medal winner).

Here is a link that might be useful: 2005 Georgia Gold Medal winners

I'm working on the same "front". Dwarf Burford and Little Rascal Holly, small rhododedrons, azaleas with a few carefully placed hostas are in the plan.

Holly seems to be quite happy with just a few hours of sun each day.

I will check into all of those, thanks! Anyone have experience with the dwarf loropetalums? I thought that might be an option as well, but not sure how dwarf they really are....

I was thinking of putting in deep red/purple dwarf loropetalums, but then after some research I'm finding they really don't stay very small at all (5-6' or more), though they seem to be easily pruned from what I've heard. If this is proven wrong I might put them back on the list for this spring.

Another shrub I'm looking at is the "Gulfstream" Nandina. It's evergreen, has green-copperery leaves in summer and bright red in winter, and weighs in at around 3' x 3'.

I'll follow this thread with some interest.

Are any of the gardenia radicans worth considering? I second the abelia; consider also the variety 'Kaleidoscope.'

Not trying to hijack the thread, but since someone has brought up Abelias, is there a way to keep the lower mounding varieties ('Rose Creek', 'Canyon Creek') from spearing straight up from the center of the shrub, like bamboo shoots, and looking like crap? Didn't think they did that, and not really sure how much to prune these back to get them back in a more mounding shape.

In looking up Abelia earlier, I found a recommendation for the cultivar 'Edward Goucher':

This shrubÂs awkward growth habit can be easily aggravated by random pruning. Ideally, it should be planted where it has room to send up its long, arching, flower-bearing shoots unimpeded. If pruning is required, remove shoots at their bases in late spring.

The Purple Diamond Loropetalums are supposed to be just four feet by four feet. I have one, but not for long enough to comment. Loropetalums should do extremely well in your sun exposure conditions.

Another consideration would be Camellia Sasanqua, Shishigashira (rose blooms) or Hot Flash (red). It would do well in your conditions and is very easy care. It stays low, but gets somewhat broad. My six year olds are about three feet high and five feet wide. I think I have selectively pruned them once. They start blooming in October and usually go well into December. Their only fault is that open blooms will be turned to brown mush by freezes. Nevertheless, they are handsome and any blooms that time of year are a joy.

Encore Azaleas would also do well there. Mine are on the eastern side of my house, but about a dozen of them are at the south end, so they get hot sun nearly all day long. They bloom twice yearly, with the heaviest bloom from August until the first freeze. I'd recommend that you buy for foliage quality first and blooms second, as they are highly variable from one kind to another.

I would recommend Harbour Belle Nandina. They are very dwarf (2 x 2') and are beautiful. They berry too. (Nandinas can be invasive in some areas, so take that into consideration.) Firepower has gorgeous winter foliage, at least in sun, does not berry, and is very attractive all year. Similar size to Harbour Belle.

Don't forget boxwood. The Koreana varieties are slow growing. Mine only require pruning once a year, or, they are quite lovely shrubs when grown in their natural form too. They do well in shade or sun.

Thanks for the additional suggestions. I have wondered about Camelia for the yard, but didn't know of dwarf varieties. I'll cehck those out. I do have some space in other parts of the bed slotted for encore azaleas. (Yes, it's quite a long, mixed border situation, with varying light, as it comes up along the driveway as well!) I had dwarf Nandinas (not sure of the variety) at my former house and wasn't too thrilled with them - the foliage never seemed to look very good at any time of the year. However - that may have been the variety or some other issue, so I'll check into the types named.

I already have boxwoods in part of the bed where I can have some taller varieties (I forget if they're wintergreen or winter gem). I like them, though this year they are blooming (!!!), which they haven't done before - and they stink! I always liked the scent of the foliage ok, but what's up with the flowers? They are tiny and not very noticeable, but they really don't smell too good.