It's not a forsythia. Do not "whack" it to the ground without knowing what it
is. The photos are very poor and not clear enough to identify it properly. I
can tell you, it's definitely not forsythia. Even if it was, I would never
recommend hacking it to the ground.

Sorry, my digital doesn't do well on close-ups. You're right, it's not
forsythia, I know what those look like. Someone suggested Gold Flame
Spirea, and I looked and found a picture that shows exactly what it
looks like when it blooms:

http://courses.smsu.edu/pab532f/GoldFlame2.jpg

Now I guess I need to get out and start removing dead branches.




Dawn