Thank you so much! I just love them and had no clue. DH and I will be removing a bunch of the stuff that is crowding them.

DH and I will be removing a bunch of the stuff that is crowding them.

==>>> dont be to hasty in doing this ... dont quite know what you mean by this.. but these things are doing just fine ... so dont go loving them to death by SIGNIFICANTLY changing it site ...

they are what they are.. and i wouldnt go messing with trying to make them into something else ...

man.. that stairway setup is cool ... reminds me of Hogwarts.. lol .. up ....down.. this way ..... that way ....

dont go fixing.. what isnt broken ....

ken

Lol on the hogwarts observation. That's what I'm calling it from now on!

The back sides of those trees look a bit spindly so we are hoping a bit of clearing out will be positive. Plus we hate those trash cherry trees that are filled with caterpillar tents. Other than that we will be removing a bunch of dead stuff.

yes .. i spotted the webs ... are you positive its not just spider webs .... its that time of year ... when they are prolific.. up here in MI ... very apparent on misty dewy mornings ....

guessing.. the back sides are thin.. because that is the shade side ... i bet its darker back there.. is the sun in front???? even if you thin i wonder if you will accomplish anything behind ...

also.. changing sun.. can lead toward a season of burn.. if you substantially change the exposure ....

have fun in your new house ...

ken

So far the webs behind look like web-worms. If it were my situation I might remove the sparse and spindly, out of context looking (non-native and yellow leaved), too close to the drive Hinoki and let the grove of trees behind them be the feature. For instance in the second shot it looks like the conifer is interfering with our intended view of the birches behind, and those are what should be retained instead of the cypress - I certainly wouldn't cut the larger trees down in order to favor the Hinoki, which by this point is a pretty poor specimen.

Especially in the first picture, where the stairs are shown the house appears as a cabin or lodge in the woods, with the stairs a sort of tree walk that lifts you up into the woodland canopy. This makes the one Hinoki between them and the drive in particular looking physically and visually misplaced, a superfluous and distracting element, that has overwhelmed the small space it was placed within.

Maybe the property has another area where you could start over with some new specimens of dwarf or slow-growing conifers where they could be seen against the house, or otherwise in a more suitable setting. And not where they will soon be growing out over an access feature, or look too tall for the area they occupy (trees and shrubs located within beds or other clearly defined areas tend to look in scale when about 2 1/2 times as tall as the space is wide at the point where each is planted. Although the way many people plant and prune it seems even this size looks excessive to them).

hmmmm .. thats another perspective ....

which bring to mind the old caveat.. trees do things in slow motion ... so why not you???

and the corollary to that.. for me.. is that i would take a year or 3.. to live with it.. as it is .. and come up with a long term plan .... whats your hurry ....

bugs in trees are part of ma nature ... i enjoy the show ... im not really interested in reacting.. in terms of time or money ... if there are other reasons for removal.. go for it ... if not.. chill ...

you need to spend time on every deck and sitting area.. and come up with a plan for a unique setting ... e.g. if you just have a green wall .. with no depth of view.. you would try to decide how to remove a certain number of trees.. to change that ... unless of course.. they are hiding other homes..

soo much to think about ... not really something i would be moving forward with a new house..in any sort of hurry ....

ken

My advise would be to live with your trees for a year or two. I notice you have a lot of hemlocks. If you are not aware of their problems, Google "hemlock wooly adelgid". If you don't treat your trees, they will be killed by this insect when it arrives. It's in the Smokies and east TN and on the move. Don't know if you've got white pine, if not, and you lose your hemlocks, you won't have a lot of winter green, if that's of interest to you. As for the chamaecyparis, well north GA ain't the PNW, or Japan, where it comes from, for that matter. I think they look good.

I think clearing the junk around them is a good idea. They will look better with more light.

Mike

The trees with the webs are a mess, lots of damage, broken limbs and just unattractive. DH who will keep a tree at all costs slated them to go, so I did a small happy dance and will let him. Those webs full of squirming wormy things just gross me out. There are certain trees they like so I plan on making sure none of those are in close proximity to where we will spend time.

There are an abundance of hemlocks on the property, we spent the day tagging quite a few damaged and sickly looking ones to go. I did a bit of research and am not willing to spend a fortune to keep treating them. DH wants to pick a few of the better placed ones that seem healthy and get them looked at and maybe see if we can salvage those. There are plenty of pines, cedars and wild hollies to add winter greenery.

Beyond that, we will try to live there a bit before removing much more. Most of what is going is damaged or in a bad spot(the gas people couldn't get in to remove the old tank, so that started some of this, the painter and roof guy need branches removed to get to the house).

I am planning on renovating the bed directly in front of the house and focusing on conifers.

tent caterpillars are disgusting

I knew right away what they were,,,OFF WITH THEIR HEADS

ron

+1 for tent caterpillars...ugh...cut the branches off and burn them.