Check out abelias. I find them to be beautiful flowering shrubs, evergreen, very drought tolerant and do well in 5 or 6 hours of sun here in San Antonio. There are several dwarf varieties.

Totally agree Abelias would make a great alternative. Our 'Edward Goucher's
fared much better in the dry heat of 2011 that roasted the 'Ballerina'
Indian hawthorns in the same bed.

We replaced those roasted ones with Autumn sage (Salvia greggii), which stays mostly evergreen in 8a and has intermittent blooms between nice flushes in the spring and fall. A different look with lots of color options in the 1.5 to 3 ft size range. Does okay with partial shade, but "reaches" for light more than the Abelias or Indian hawthorns did; so tends to get lopsided in spots like the north side of a fence where it moves in and out of shadow over the solar year.

Thank you both so much! I took a look at the abelias and they look exactly what I'm looking for! Has anyone tried the variagated hybrids? They have some absolutely beautiful cultivars available. Thank you both so much. I usually ask but so rarely does the suggestion I get so squarely hit the nail on the head.

I do have some autumn sage. Love it to death and it's tough as nails, it's just not the look I'm going for here.