Ilex glabra
A great native alternative to boxwood!
This cool new dwarf, broadleaf evergreen looks more like a boxwood than an inkberry. A dense, ball-shaped plant, Gem Box ilex has small, dainty, dark green leaves with attractive red tips during the spring flush. It maintains good branching right to the ground so it never looks bare-legged like other cultivars may. It's great as a small evergreen hedge or used as a container specimen in milder climates.
Deer-resistant
2-3' tall & wide
Part sun to sun
Zones 5a-9b