For a small shrub, select between dwarf yaupon holly and dwarf Chinese holly. The dwarf yaupon holly forms a rounded top that usually stays at 3 feet. The leaves are small with no thorns.

A third small holly that makes a good foundation shrub is dwarf Chinese holly. With its crinkled kelly green leaves, it makes an attractive mound about 2½ feet tall and 3 feet wide.

If you're looking for shrubs deer won't eat, consider dwarf yaupon holly and dwarf Chinese holly. Deer pass up both in my neighborhood. Dwarf yaupon holly forms a globe-shaped crown that can reach ...

Dwarf Chinese holly has 3-inch leaves with several sharp spines. Generally no fruit. Grows to about 3 feet tall. Good pedestrian and animal barricade plant. Don’t use if you garden barefoot.

Chinese holly (Ilex cornuta) is a densely branched shrub or small tree. It has shiny, dark-green leaves that can be oval or so curled as to appear rectangular, with only single spines at the four ...

Learn how to keep deer out of your garden with deer-resistant plants and effective fencing solutions for lasting protection.

Evergreen shrub or small tree growing from 1 to 15 feet tall. Leaves are deep green and small, with dense growth more similar to a boxwood than a holly.

It does not bear fruit. Dwarf Chinese holly grows to 36 inches tall and 40 inches wide if never sheared. My plants started to bear fruit after they were 30 years old.

There are more than 400 holly species (Ilex spp.) with sizes that range from trees that can reach 50 feet tall to low-growing shrubs that max out at 2 feet tall.

Other fragrant flowering trees include loquat, banana shrub and sweet olive. Trees like Burford Chinese holly, yaupon holly and eastern red cedar are great for providing a source of food for wildlife.