The "should we" part is tripping me up just a bit. Do you wish to? Do you like those plants? I'll bet they're yews, an old favorite for foundation plantings. In a way, they look perfectly fine to me, but perhaps not too exciting. But mostly this is just a judgement call-there's no hard/fast rules in place.

Wisconsitom, thanks for your response. I do not care for the bushes. Initially, I intended to remove all of them, but I am wondering if there is a way to make them look better. I am seeking opinions on the look of the bushes; whether I should keep them and attempt to reshape them; or whether I should scrap them and start anew with different choices.

If they are yews, they can be safely cut back, even hard, and allowed to grow more naturally. That, along with adding cottage-y plants, should do what you want. I would not just rip out healthy established shrubs like those unless I were transplanting them to a better place..

Thank you, Mad_gallica. We are located in eastern Washington state. The house faces south and the trees that are pictured in front are lined on both sides of the street providing a canopy of trees over the road along the length of the street. But, the trees do not shade the bushes.

I like your suggestions. Thank you. I guess I just figured those bushes would be the first thing to go. But, judging by the comments, it seems as if they are not as bad of an eye sore as I had thought.

get rid of them ... when is the only issue ... though i agree... you have a whole bunch of other things to do with a new house ...

in my MI ... regrowth ... would take 3 to 5 years.. and in that period.. they would be ugly as sin ... perhaps a project out on my back 5 acres.. but not something you do in front of your new castle ...

go take a look inside those plants.. there is no green.. so if you shave off say.. 2 feet ... you will be looking at a brown mess ... and personally ... i would not like to look at that for very long... they are conifers.. not what a gardener might call a shrub ... and conifers do not releaf in one season [again.. in MI ] .. like a shrub might .... [and i know certain peeps who are going to argue with my wordage.. so be it .. i hope you understand the point i make]...

again.. in MY MI .. thats a 1960s or 70s ranch.. and i would bet my shiny nickle.. those plants are original ... older very mature conifers.. might not respond as well as younger plants would ...

last best though .. massacre the one on the left end ... to your satisfaction .. and see how it responds ... and if by fall .. you dont like it ... then you will know what to do with the rest ... this gives you 6 months to take care of the inside of the house ...[besides.. if you want to work outdoors .. work on teh patio/deck out back.. for the barbie...]

all this said .. i would chain them to the trailer hitch [since i note the trailer] ... and pull those things out.. faster than i typed this out...

ken

If you don't like the effect the shrubs should be taken out - especially if they are going to be in the way*. Even if you cut them down low and they are a kind that comes back well from stumps, once they grow back enough then they will start exceeding the space again - much, if not all of the motivation for the boring formal shearing was probably how big they had become.

*The stumps of cut off shrubs would still be something for people working on the house to trip over, even if the rest of the tops are no longer present

I would remove the shrubs. They do nothing to enhance the look of the house in its setting, which is the first and major purpose of landscaping.

If you're looking for real landscaping advice, try the landscaping forum.

Sounds like you have lots going on! Before you tear out that pony wall out front, think about a screen porch - when you start talking farmhouse, that's one of the first things I think of. If you will be having workers in and out, you may want to consider postponing new plantings till fall. Good luck!

Those shrubs just get ugly with age, and I don't believe I have ever witnessed them getting a makeover that was any sort of improvement.