Wow, thank you for all your suggestions. I'm thinking it must be a box or privet honeysuckle. My plan is to cut it down to about a foot (as someone indicated above). Over the years, as it grew, the owners just trimmed the side of the shrub so that it wouldn't block the path on the side of the house. So it just grew higher and higher and now has started leaning over the path. So now it's just an annoyance and gets beat up on by anyone walking down the path. Knowing what it is I can now get it healthy and healthy-looking again. Thank you again! Your efforts are much appreciated. flora uk: there are some red leaves on top that have fallen from a nearby japanese maple, but it's all just the honeysuckle in the photo.

We have Rose of Sharon growing along or 6 ft fence. It is dense and adds great privancy. The flowers and leaves are edible which the links below will tell you...we have not tried them yet. (We enjoy the blooms too much to eat them) They grow in USDA zone 5 to 8. This site says the flowers only last one day...we have the white flower and the pink flower and they stay from july through september and beyond. http://www.gardensablaze.com/Shrubs/ShrubsRoseOfSharon.htm http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=rose+of+sharon+hedge+pictures&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai= http://www.ehow.com/how_4450900_grow-rose-sharon-hibiscus.html http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/072510/liv_682592937.shtml

Maybe that is it. But I still lean toward a sheared Trachelospermum jasminoides with nutrient issues. The rear shows darker green leaves. That is a very common look when part of a mass planting has issues.

Definitely. A common one with this general appearance is 'Frades'. Although the toothing of the leaves and other details may perhaps indicate it is not the same exact one. Pink Princess Escallonia http://www.monrovia.com/plant-catalog/plants/1093/pink-princess-escallonia/