Those are yews and the damage is minor. Just trim it out.

As to the lawn, suggest you repost in the Lawn Care forum. Lawns tend to be very regional in their type and care calender and the guys who hang out there are very good at their ability to diagnose problems and get you on the right track. Just be aware that it will likely not be a quick fix and if you want a lush looking lawn, it takes a lot of chemicals, watering and effort to achieve.

I agree with the above. Just so you know, that looks to be branch damage rather than winter burn, so perhaps breakage from high winds. Winter burn tend to be over a wider area, not just a few random branches, though sometimes it can be everything that was above snow line.

Those are yews and the damage is minor. Just trim it out.

==>>> EXTREMELY MINOR ...

keep the lawn patch moist ...

if you are going to hang around... add your location.. on your members page.. so we dont have to ask ... and it shows in every post ...

you could let the yew start its spring growth ... and then just remove the brown stuff that isnt growing.. just as far back as the brown ...

ken

Unless definitely not appearing until after the cold period I would say the dead twigs on the yews are caused by a "fungal" twig blight. I had the same thing happen here one year, after repeatedly wetting the top of a recently planted yew - including sometimes rather late in the day.

Since I quit doing that it looks better.