looks like problems common to boxwood [of which i dont deal with] ... if they are.. just get rid of them.. and plan something new for the area ... lifes to short to deal with problem plants ... and who need 3 of anything anyway ...

if they arent boxwood ... same comments ... lifes too short ...

ken

ps: i hope you dont find weed cloth under the rock ... if so.. remove it ...

Looks like some kind of Indian Hawthorne. I dont know whats wrong with them but a Walmart in my area has these and they have the same problem.

It doesn't look like boxwood or Indian Hawthorne to me but I'm not in Atlanta either. Different areas grow different varieties of the same species. Leaves are too pointy to be the boxwood I see and much too small to be Indian Hawthorn.

I've had shrubs with dieback. Ugly! Try pruning out the dead wood and see what happens. Maybe that's it and the shrub will be fine. My shrubs were fine after they did that but a neighbor's hedge of the same species is now completely dead. It could be due to a disease or it could be damage to that branch. Hope it's just a sickly branch and move on.

Thank you for all of your input. I think I'm going to try to trim back the brown branches. If it was just die back what are the odds it would be affecting 2 bushes that are right next to each other? Also, could this be caused by a bug? The reason I ask is some of the leaves look like they have been holes eaten in them. I did notice there is weed blocking fabric on the ground around the bush, would that affect anything?

Looks like a carissa holly, just trim the dead stuff and it will fill in. Could be damage from dog urine or chemical over spray.

Carissa holly.