Ilex 'Sky Pencil' might suit the area...you didn't mention exposure, soil conditions, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ilex 'Sky Pencil'

Oops. I did leave that out. It is on the NE side of the house with full to partial sun. I think the soil is pretty acidic but we are planning to lime it because we are looking at some alkaline loving plants. I'm new at this so please ask if I left something out!

Sky Pencil does look interesting. I'll look into it. Thanks.

Perhaps an upright juniper, such as Skyrocket, blue-grey about 2 feet wide, 20 feet tall at maturity. Fast grower.

Patty

I just planted an Irish Yew next to my front steps. I had Sky pencil elsewhere but it has proved a very poor grower for me. One went over in a snow storm. The nursery man told me that they have an underdeveloped root ssytem.

The Irish yew is 6 foot tall and may be 9 inches wide. It appeared to need little if any pruning---I am a low maintenance kind of gardener. Not cheap, however. The ones in my nursery ranged $100 to $300 per. The person at the nursery told me that it could hit 10-15 feet.

I would check into their suitability in the Georgia summer.

An additional feature of this plant is that if you have other yews in your foundation plantings, the foliage in the Irish yew will be similar.

I had 2 skyrocket junipers flanking the front door of my old house. It was a full west exposure. They were about 4 feet tall when bought. They were wonderful, almost to the top of the second story windows in 12 years, just check out their roots before they are bought. Mine were balled/burlapped and one of the root balls broke apart while planting-it was always just a bit shorter and thinner than the other one. Not quite the balanced look I was going for, oh well.

I have planted the new Fine Line Buckthorn. Graceful fern like foliage, non invasive. So if you want to try something that is not an evergreen this is a really neat looking plant.

Chamaecyparis (Xanthocyparis) Nootkatensis 'Van den Akker'