We put hollies in an area that sounds similar to yours, with a couple of evergreen azaleas for Spring color, and a Beautyberry for fall color. It’s working so far.
I have to tell you that I DESPISE hollies! My dad had a thing for them & was constantly scrounging small ones from the wooded areas around the pastures & planting them all over. Mowing around some really big ones was the pits & the small ones were a pain in the you-know-what to maneuver around. There are 2 larger hollies at the new place & I have them trimmed back so I can mow with no prickles. There will be no more hollies on this place. Whew! Sorry for the rant, but hollies are a ‘hot’ topic with me ... they are pretty with the red berries as long as they are on someone else’s property.
We had azaleas & replaced them with the boxwoods I mentioned. My mom has the compulsion to “snip” away at any stray shoots so she ended up trimming off all the flowers being set for the next year ... not doing that again. Dad & I used to joke about burying her with a pair of clippers. She literally cannot stop herself from snipping & clipping. So far, she has left the boxwoods alone.
I will check out the Beauty berries - thanks!