The difference between a shrub and a tree is somewhat esoteric. But no matter how you slice it, the difference is arbitrary, unless, of course, you have something at stake in the decision. This is a twenty year old shrub that has been meticulously cared for. It continues past the bottom roof line of the house and cannot be missed. When I first started walking each afternoon I passed the yard where this shrub lives. The owner was standing in a mess of clippings. He had trimmed it down to an airy, living work of art. I used the word “meticulous,” because that’s what he was. When I got there he was clipping an inch at a time and standing back to examine the results. He told me he’d been doing this every year or so for the past twenty years. So, patience is an enormous part of this plant. The shrub had become a kind of bonzai. Later, from the side in late afternoon, I took this picture.