I'm not sure where in the south you are..... I'm thinking zones 7 or 8, but not sure. Nelly Stevens holly may work for the job, but some pictures of the bed would be really helpful. Also, a picture of the "big trees" would also be helpful. I don't really have enough information to go on.

GA is a bit different than AZ .. both are south ... more specificity please ...

a pic would help ..

as would how big the yard is.... and how much you are willing to give up ...

ken

It is helpful if you add both zone and general location within the zone. You can set your profile so that it posts automatically by your name. Here's how, including a look-up for your zone:

Go to Your Houzz in the upper right of every page, click Edit Profile, and on the left side click advanced settings. Well down the advanced settings page is a blank labeled Climate Zone for Garden Forums along with a link to find your zone.

If you add info on your state or the nearest large city you will get even better information since zone only relates to average coldest winter temperatures.

Then return to the top of the page and click Done Editing.