Yes you can remove the yellow Chamaecyparis tree. You have a nice wall to show off. The weeping cedar and deciduous tree on the left are plenty. Fill in the space with that juniper looking groundcover if there is enough sun. The condition of the yellow chamaecyparis makes me think shade. Do a ground cover height plant that works in that space.

The rangy looking shrub on the right is a barberry. Root prune it. There is no reason to have sharp needles in the garden.

and in the third pic.. whats the ground cover.. a juniper.. or a perennial ... a closer pic will get you the ID ...

Cut off what you don't like, think about the changed situation for awhile and then add what you think will produce an improvement later. When garden centers are stocked for the spring gardening rush.

Oh my gosh, Yes!, Take it out! Great advice from Christopher, Ken Adrian & Embothrium. You won’t believe the difference in look of your home once it’s gone. You do have a multi phase project & I agree with Ken - come back with more pics & info when tree is laid to rest.

You could try cutting off all the lower limbs and then reconsidering. Although it is tall, it is still young and the trunk is not thick. You maybe could remove it yourself. I would certainly not plant another tree in it's place. The stone is nice. You could leave it exposed for a season while you consider what you want. No need to hurry.

Yes, remove the overgrown plants.

I've heard that most landscaping, after 25-30 years, is past it's intended usefulness.

You may want to remove it all and replace with smaller or dwarf trees/shrubs. or leave one of the larger trees and some low shrubbery then add a few smaller specimens to the picture.

I'm not a design expert but do agree that something must be done. :-)

Thanks everyone for your comments. Very much appreciated. Today, I removed the tree although I still need to cut the remainder of the stump flush to the ground. Lots of work tomorrow to bundle up the branches for the curbside collection :-(

Here are new pics so you can see how the space looks without the tree. I'd like to maybe get rid of the barberry bush and add a couple waist high evergreen shrubs or mini tree. A neighbor has some beautiful shrubs which I think are mugo pines. Wife likes color so another possibility is to create a flower bed for perennials?

Ken - I live in Southern New Jersey near Philadelphia. The front of the house faces east with partial shade coming from a couple trees near the sidewalk, but a decent amount of sun makes it through. Also, I can confirm the existing ground cover near the void is juniper.

As you can see, the tall shrubs to the right of the weeping cedar are overgrown. I plan to trim those down significantly (or remove them?) . Also there is a small rhododendron tucked behind those bushes that could come out or if I take out the big bushes then maybe plant more rhododendron?.

Yes get rid of the barberry. Is that more of them in front of the evergreens on the right? If so, kill them too. Can you take a closeup of the shrub between the rhododendron and cedar for ID? Some shrubs can take a hard pruning and some can't. The rhododendron may be worth keeping.

You need to free up the weeping cedar if you want to keep it so it is more of a focal point.

Most rhododendron will get too large for this space and perennial flowers will only give your wife color for 3 months of the year without a well planned seasonal progression of plants. Euonymus japonicus 'Aureo-marginatus' or another cultivar are colorful waist high shrubs that would work for this space.

When you replant, do it a minimum of 3' away from the house. Everything in that bed was planted too close to the wall.

Christopher- it’s funny you should recommend the Aureo Marginatus. That is the same species that I already have on the right side that you asked me to ID. I have two of them approx 5 feet apart on center and 6-8 feet from the wall. I didn’t know they were called that until I googled what you posted lol. The problem I had with that shrub is that it grew much larger and faster than I anticipated. I guess it really likes the soil and shade conditions there? They grew really quickly to around 8-9 feet height even though i cut them back often. There’s only one barberry left I removed a scraggly one today and I agree the other one needs to come out also. I don’t have anything growing in front of the Aureo it just looks that way because I had pruned back the lower branches last Fall.

That is way tall for a Euonymus japonicus. It may not be one of the more dwarf cultivars and the cramped spacing and competition can force plants to grow up for light. There are a lot of newer dwarf shrub selections these days. A visit to a good nursery come spring may be in order.

Michael, there is a house behind that tree! And, a pretty stone wall too! I like it when a decision is made and the project immediately goes full steam ahead. I agree with Christopher about the Rhododendron size being too big for the space. A nice alternative might be azalea - they are as popular & as easy to grow as rhodies are here in the PNW. They come in many flower colors, gorgeous in spring &most are evergreen - there is a deciduous variety but personally I would go for evergreens for a front entry. Thank you for sharing “after“ pics.

call miss dig ... and have the mark the utilities ... either for when you dig.. or where you plant ... no use planting directly on top of such ...

pic of the ground cover????

keep in mind.. foundation planting are planted TO HIDE THE FOUNDATION.... NOT on the foundation ... that is the root problem of these old bushes ... they were not left much of any room to grow because they are too close to the house ...

understand that conifers are trees .. as such.. they never stop growing in your lifetime.. or the next owners lifetime.. the is the second problem when these old beasts were planted ...

mugo's are sold as dwarf ... that only means it takes them a few more years .. annual growth rate ... to get much to big for a spot .. trust me ion that .. dad planted a dozen of tiny babes in front of the house i grew up in... and fast forward.. he had some punk dig them all out because they were huge.. and all he paid me was room and board ... lol ...

size estimates are usually at 10 years ... see link below for annual growth rates ... it is usually 10x the annual rate to get the 10 year size .... as trees that never stop growing ... presume at 20 years ... they will be twice as big ...

https://conifersociety.org/conifers/learn/conifer-sizes-growth-rates/

if you really want to make an impact for the future ... stay away from bigbox ... unless you just want what everyone else has ... if you want to KNOW what the future holds.. then buy named plants.. with known growth potential ... it really is worth the minimal extra investment ... look around this joint for what is available ...

https://www.coniferkingdom.com/

you have to deal with your wife.. but if it were me... i would skip the mugos ... good luck with that .. lol ... maybe let her shop around CKingdom ...

in z7... you ought to be able to plant some sublime JMaples that i cant get away with ... in a multitude of small sizes ... im jealous ... and would be very upset if you settled for mugo ...

ken

As for the stump. We live in east of Raleigh NC, Our lot was woods for several decades before it was cleared for the house. I find that the soil in the untouched areas of the lot are sufficiently active that the softwood rot away in a couple of years. You can speed the rot in a stump by drilling several 3/8 or larger holes in the stump. These collect water and lets a culture be establish that will speed the rot. Let time do the job instead of your back and dollars.

If you go the this route, do not put anything on the stump, you want to promote the growth of organism in the stump not kill them off

I came up with E japonicus when I first saw the pictures. I believe that’s a correct id.

Thanks all!

More pics of the japonicus and weeping cedar as well as a side shot to show how far from the house they all are.

Ken - great anecdote about your Dad lol. I really love Japanese maples too. I will strongly consider that option. Maybe I take out one of the two Japonicus leaving the one further to the right and along with taking out the barberry that would give the weeping cedar some room to stand out properly? Take out the Rhodo? I do love the color, but it's in a bad location.

Maybe I take out one of the two Japonicus leaving the one further to the right and along with taking out the barberry ... blah.. blah.. blah ... lol ...

===>>>

the story wasnt about dad.. it was about the punk kid.. lol ...

listen to me ..I WILL YELL .... TAKE OUT EVERYTHING .... if budget and ability will allow ... OR ...or do it in stages... but long term.. get rid of it all ...

trust me on this... you will regret EVERYTHING you leave .. sooner or later ... and though it can all be removed later ... it might not be as easy ... but just make it part of the plan ...

i still cant ID that ground cover stuff ... sooo.. just get rid of it.. lol ...

ken

and dont forget a strategically placed plant to hide the garbage cans ... it was the punk kids job to pull those in every week also ... lol ... BTW.. you have any punk kids to do the work ...???.. tell them youll watch the grandkids while they toil ... age isnt indicative of punkness ....

About the Rhodie - you said you like it but agree the location is bad. In my location rhodies are pretty amenable to being transplanted. Do you have another spot around your home that would be the “right” place for it? If not, maybe a neighbor or friend would welcome adding to their yard. You’d still be able to enjoy seeing it that way.

The ground cover is Juniper.

when you say take all of it, I’m just wondering the logic. the weeping cedar? The Japanese maple on the left? I’m inclined to keep the weeping cedar and the maple tree and tear out the rest. Not sure on the Juniper.

the maple on the left is gorgeous in the Fall

I want to keep the Japanese maple, I thought that might be what it was, the weeping cedar and the rhododendron. The juniper is sparse looking because of the shade of the maple. It needs full sun to look best and won't be a good groundcover choice here. It can go too.

Lose the Euonymus and keep the rhododendron imo.

Christopher and floral - I like this advice. I'm going to keep the maple and weeping cedar and probably keep the rhodo also and get rid of everything else including the juniper. I think the juniper is rather ugly and I hate the acratchy feel of it when cleaning up leaves etc. I prefer leafy shrubs to needly, prickly stuff lol and I despise any type of vine based plant like ivy because it behaves poorly and grows all over the place.

What is best groundcover that is a leafier variety that won't become invasive into the grass and unintended areas?

Here are a few pics I snapped on my morning walk. A couple leafy shrubs (I think the purple one is an evergreen azalea?) and a ground cover that I like. Help with ID appreciated.

My guesses in order of pics, 1 azalea, 2, sarcococca ruscifolia (several kinds of this plant exist), and 3 pachysandra ground cover. All of these are shade plants or at least not hot sun plants. Did you ever say where you live?

Southern New Jersey - the front of the house faces east and gets partial shade from a couple larger trees in near the sidewalk.

The first may be a PJM rhododendron cultivar. Someone will quibble with that no doubt. The second pic is a Cherry Laurel, probably the smaller allegedly dwarf 'Otto Luyken'.

A good partial sun groundcover is hardy geranium. Many selections to choose from.

Christopher - thanks for that! Would the geranium groundcover be replanted each year? It’s a perennial right?

Yes the hardy geraniums are low spreading, blooming perennials with greater and lesser abilities at being semi-evergreen. Weathers depending.

I really like Veronica "Georgia Blue" as an evergreen groundcover. It is hardy to zone 4, likes full to partial sun, and has tiny blue flowers in the spring. You could plant 3 each of the geranium and veronica and see which one likes your garden the best. You could also add a few coleus in the spring to give contrasting color. Good luck. It looks better already!

What about Huecheras for ground cover? Some of mine are very nearly evergreen in my zone 5, although they do look ratty at the end of winter. However, a quick snip of the foliage and they resprout quickly.

Absolutely love Heuchera/ Coral Bells! That’s a great suggestion. I have them edging walkways and patio in both front entry and back yard & in sunny & shady spots. They come in so many colors so no need for flowers with them. But, their flower spikes sure do attract the hummingbirds!