Another Plant Butchered

My husband has struck again.  It started out as a simple trim around the base of the shrub and ended up looking like a tree branch sticking out of the ground.  He did this to the tree next to our driveway as well.  Basically the shrub was dying due to lack of water.  We fixed the dripper so it would get adequate amounts, but it needed a little trimming to help it look healthier since it was loosing all the leaves.  My husband starts out with good intentions but then something just snaps in his brain --he can't stop himself.  As I was watching him do it I saw his eyes starting to glaze over.  I cautioned him to slow down repeatedly telling him the shrub was starting to look, well, not very pretty.  He looked like he was going to stop so I turned away and busied myself with cleaning up the yard, but when I turned back it was to late.  He had hacked off so much of the top it was not recognizable as a shrub and looked more like a fine from the HOA.  I had to literally take the clippers out of his hands.  It was more like prying really.  I hated to do what I had to do next but there was no choice -- it had to be cut down to only inches so that it could grow back and not look like some homeowner got carried away on pruning.  Words cannot express the shock over this "little trim" gone bad.

If a picture is worth a thousand words then these pictures should say it all.  The picture on the top left is a plant of similar size to the one my husband cut down (2nd picture down on left).  The only difference is the healthy one is greener and a sage.  The third picture on the left is one of the trees in our front yard and the one he has been forbidden to touch.  The fourth picture is the tree he tried to "trim" and left looking somewhat deformed.  In conclusion, my husband is good at so many things, but he is never allowed to trim any plant on our property ever again.