In article . com,
Jo Ann wrote:

A garden I drive past regularly has this great looking plant in it. I
can't seem to drive by when there is anyone out in the yard and I'm
too shy to actually knock on their door to ask what it is, so thought
maybe you folks could help.

It looks like a short -- REALLY short -- maple tree of some kind.
It's about 2-3 feet tall. It has a single trunk (or a very trunk-like
stem) that is a couple inches in diameter and an umbrella-shaped
canopy of dark reddish/burgundy, maple-like leaves (deeply cut and
serrated). They must not think it's going to get very big, as it's an
anchor point in quite a small garden bed. It makes me think of a
Japanese maple, except it's so small and the shape is so tidy (I
realize that could be pruning, of course).

Sound familiar to anyone? Thanks in advance for suggestions!

The dwarf Japanese Maple 'Shaina' is pretty small.

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/75420/index.html