The photo is not clear enough to ID even when enlarged, although I am leaning towards some form of Hinoki cypress. And there a lot to choose from. btw, a dwarf conifer is one that has a specific rate of growth....less than 6 inches per year. So the 'dwarf' your landscaper planted wasn't really a dwarf or it could not have put on that much growth in only 4 years.

There is a Hinoki cypress - Chamaecyparis obtusa cultivar - to fit any size garden and just about any size planting spot as well. Check out 'Kosteri' - a true dwarf that only puts on about 3-4 inches of new growth a year and stays dense and compact and under 5' for a very long time.

I think you may be right. We have a Hinoki cypress in our back yard that was planted at the same time but it's 10 ft tall. I wasn't aware there were varieties that remained as small as the one we had in front.

I just looked up the Kosteri you recommended and it looks very much like the replacement one we have now, a more densely packed cone of flat sprays as opposed to the more widely spaced branches with smaller foliage shown in my photo. However it's not growing slowly so the landscaper must have planted a regular variety there instead of the dwarf. I guess I'll try again to find the right dwarf variety that stays under 5' for a long time, that's exactly what I want there. Thanks.