What a beautiful home ! If you are going to landscape think curb appeal (if you put trees In front of the porch on both sides you will hide the beauty of the house Also what colors would your mom enjoy looking at in her landscape? . What climate are you in, then we can give you better ideas.

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/pick-the-perfect-front-walkway-material-stsetivw-vs~3073795 Here is an idea. The shaped trees and bushes would look great againstbthe porch brick You could do something similar to what they have along the sides to fill in the overgrown side you have. But I would also use some perennial flowers and plants to add color and interesT

Arborvitae privacy screen for sides https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-patio-traditional-patio-portland-phvw-vp~2231902

Something like this actually is low maintenance. The perennials fill in and come back every year. Just some fall clean-up where they die back.

Can you post pictures of the problem area? And can you identify the shrubs and htings that are there?

Where is the house - city and state.

To all, the home is in a suburb of Milwaukee WI, and faces South. The area gets tons of sun now thanks to Dutch Elm disease clearing out all the primary old growth trees. I don't know what the name of the shrubs. But those in the photo have been removed though I am still wrestling with some roots. The one good thing I did was to kill all the ivy that was growing on the side of the house, it was beautiful but it was also destroying the mortar between the bricks.

@wiselawcat, yes curb appeal is very important. The trees/shrubs shown by the outdoor fireplace are EXACTLY the ones I had suggested. My only concern is the number of times I've seen a nice line of those with one or two that just up and died after many years of growth, and then how do you replace those? Also, when I mentioned slow growing ornamental trees to flank the front of the porch I was thinking of dwarf trees, but maybe they would be too big as well?

@tsudhonimh, I'm sure I could take a photo but couldn't we just presuppose it looks something like the attached photo? hehe I know there's at least one box wood tree in there as well as some wicked-hard tree with three inch thorns and a thin, shiny black almost birch looking bark.

@apple_pie_order, I think a consultation is in order. I'd love to hear recommendations for an affordable landscaper in the greater Milwaukee area.

Not sure if hashtags work in houzz or not but here's a test: #LandscaperMilwaukee #MilwaukeeLandscaperNeeded #LandscaperNeeded

No, that's Twitter ;-)

But the grounds need to be simplified as much as possible, and as much as possible, convert hard-to-maintain edges to mulched, low-maintenance areas. Then have small, easily-mowed places in between.

All overgrown shrubs should be cut back hard next spring, to permit a full season of growth and recovery before winter.

Taking out old plants, replanting, new sprinklers, all of those things are very expensive. Just might want to hire a good, trustworthy yard maintenance crew to come in weekly.

@sstarr93, Google+ just incorporated hashtags; I expect that LinkedIn will follow if it hasn't already and houzz(?). They sure are ugly but useful

@pcmom1, removing the old plants will be the biggest part of the project for sure and with all those roots removed I'll probably need a a ton (literally) of soil. Thanks for the head's up. Maybe pulling roots could become a new strongman event?

What would LinkedIn do with hashtags? ;-) Maybe post to the groups?
I can actually see using hashtags on Houzz.... creating a live feed perhaps, by topic.. you could tune into your dashboard and flip through your topics of interest.

i don't know much about it but i've heard that rubber mulch is a low maintenance option to traditional mulch - just a random thought for you

New mulch refreshes flower beds. I few nice pots of flowers on stairs and by the door. Trees trimmed. Fertilizer. Set to go.

What size lot does the house sit on?
We used to do all our own landscaping but as we are getting older we have been paying a landscape person to handle yard work.
They do leaf clean up in fall, in late spring, they mulch, mid summer (as shrubs grow) they trim and then weed yard.
Our house sits on an acre and we many plants around our patio.

It might be worth considering hiring out the work and siblings divide the bill. It is a huge stress reliever for us to have hired the work out and our yard always looks good.

Plus, major changes to the yard could be a huge stressor for your mom at her age.

@pcmom1, very good point about the stress it might cause. Very good point.

Good morning, Paula - have you considered an artificial turf lawn? EasyTurf will give your Mom a lush green lawn year-round without the maintenance/water/mowing/fertilizing/etc. When the snow melts, she won't have a muddy mess for a front yard, just the best-looking lawn on the block :) Check us out at www.easyturf.com - Let me know what questions you have - I'd be happy to help.
Cheers!
George
http://www.houzz.com/projects/82914/Beautiful-Front-Yard

I know a couple of folks with fake lawns and they look pretty darn good. Think they are rather expensive, however.

word of warning....you said you'd trim back the lilacs in fall....STOP....you have to do that right following their flowering or else you cut off the buds for following season (I speak...huhum ... from experience!

I bought micro clover this spring and we cut it twice all summer (in 5 months) pretty maintenance free as that's what I was looking for too.

Hello PCMOM - the initial cost may seem expensive, but check out this stat sheet one of our dealers put together. http://www.newtexlandscape.com/residential_aturf.htm. It shows you the costs over 20 years.
Cheers!
George

Umm easy turf, and this is just a personal opnion, but wouldnt a lawn look out of place all green and lush when all the neighbours are looking brown and thirsty? not sure I'd want to be so obvious....just me though

Easy Turf, best thing you could do is add color variation and some flaws. Sort of like adding real dead leaves to the base of a fake ficus!

Interesting chart! My hubby has mowed our lawn up until this month (surgery). Don't know if he will reclaim that job. If it were up to me, we would let the back lawn go into a meadow and just add a wide path! We live in a very hot area, not at all hospitable to lawns!

But without that lawn I would miss out on the summer morning fun of watching hubby check for a new gopher hole! He HATES those!

This is a lovely home. With the exception of planting a screening hedge which is a very good idea for future purchasers, I would only remove overgrown shrubs and simplify as much as possible to keep it looking tidy. When you ultimately put the home on the market you can gussy it up with quick plantings and annuals rather than try to maintain a complicated landscape.

mcbriec, I tend to agree with you entirely. There's nothing wrong with a sea of weed free grass, eh?

http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/04/11/lawn-alternatives-the-great-grass-switchover/

bananamamma! If this stuff grows under a black walnut tree I'm gonna throw this Irish theme all over the lawn! you rock!

That house is beautiful.

Just saw your discussion so I thought I'd do a couple searches for you.

Here are some landscape architects and designers in your area: http://www.houzz.com/professionals/s/Landscape-Architects-&-Designers/c/Milwaukee,-WI/d/10

And here are some Landscape contractors: ape-contractors/c/Milwaukee--WI/d/10

Hope that helps!

Ahaha Emily *still laughing* yeah, that's exactly what I need some "ape-contractors/..." to rip out the overgrowth. OMG that was so cute! I am really liking you peeps at houzz, you seems like a really nice bunch of folks. Keep up the good work!

we ripped out most of our weed infested overgrown yard this fall. We need something low maintenance. We planted grass that can just get mowed rather than beds that need mulch and weeding. We ripped out all the ivy and planted pachysandra (ground cover that does not climb) in its place. Looks good, yard looks bigger, kids enjoying less fussy landscaping. In front we ripped out 2 overgrown boxwoods flanking the entry and haven't yet missed them (1 month). Will eventually replace with something else. Felt great to get the old, worn out, weedy junk out of the yard.

A few thoughts for you...boxwoods seem to be a plant that would go with the style of the house, if you are replacing front shrubbery. A simple in-line hedge planting would work. Pachysandra is a terrific low maintenance ground cover, but in my own experience, takes awhile to grow in (although I did plant it in pretty dense shade). When replanting with it, I'd plant closer together than originally suggested. If you need privacy from neighbors, and want something low maintenance perhaps you should consider a stylish fence product. If there are 3 siblings with children, maybe you could get pre-done panels and install as a family project. I would also consider installing edging between the lawn/beds to keep a clean line. If it is permitted in your area, using a pre-emergent product like Preen will inhibit weeds. Not too tough to toss down, saves weeding later. As mentioned earlier, a recycled rubber mulch in a dark brown color could also save on reapplication of organic mulch multiple times.

Look into Japanese maples as small, slow growing and beautiful trees. They come in a variety of colours and the leaves are very delicate and lacy. Perennial grasses in large clumps are also easy and no maintenance.
Also, I believe you said your mom was in her 80s making a 20 year investment not such a good idea. The house is gorgeous. The outside is just as important to it. Spend a bit of money to take care of it properly. I don't know your housing prices but in Toronto area , a house like that unrenovated would cost between $800,000 to $1 mil. It is worth the investment to do it right.

Paula Kates and anyone who has a grass/landscape issue.....this microclover is magic....truly it is. WE built a house last year and ran low on $ towards the end....our soil (what soil) was sand basically....dh threw way too much of the seed (which is expensive relatively) but it is fantastic! greeen GREEEN..... my Irish eyes are laughing!! I did the lake side and used what they said to and it's still uber green not as conjested as his side! lol....no grass at all and neighbours arrived all summer to see the 'lawn' they'd heard about......they were fascinated. So the gist of it is, it is self fertilizing, it takes the nitrogen from the air and sucks it down to it's roots which is why it grows anywhere I suppose. It is a variety that gets about 6" max....not too many flowers (teeny tiny ones) so doesen't attract bees....phew....be brave it's amazing stuff! if your'e in the states even easier for you....I had to find it in Canada, not so easy!

nanamama, I am totally going to suggest we at least experiment with microclover!

@pcmom - :)
we have a few varieties with some brown blades in the turf so that the lawn doesn't look exactly perfect.
@bananamamma i both enjoy having a perfect lawn every day of the year AND knowing I'm saving a ton of money and time not having to deal with trying to make my lawn green. I've got a few neighbors who have already made the switch to EasyTurf for the same reasons.

@pcmom - EasyTurf would also eliminate gophers ... so, if you really enjoy watching your husband's aggravation rise with every new hole, don't get EasyTurf :)
he might like it though ...
Cheers!
George

bananamamma: I'm very intrigued by the microclover idea. Do you know whether it is more or less fragile than traditional grass? We have a backyard with lots of shade and moisture, and our two dogs rip up the fragile shade grass just running on it. Is there any chance the microclover would be more sturdy?

Much more hearty than normal grass, it's actually the clover that they sometimes add to normal grass seed mixes cause of the self fertilizing aspect. I believe it is ofen added to the grass mix for soccer pitches and baseball diamonds which take beatings and recover fast. We have a dog, 2 kids and 3 grandkids and one of them has a big dog too....they're here most weekends and you'd never know it.....we have a fire pit in the middle and the clover grows merrily around the fire pit even....it is incredibly hardy. If in Canada I can save you tons of time if you want to buy some, let me know and I'll send you the email of they guy I found (he's in Ontario) he is a distributor of the company that is based in BC....in the US it's much easier to get it, but I was told not to try to have it sent across the border as it wouldn't work... I also bought something called trail mix...one sec while I go and find the website ( http://qualityseed.squarespace.com/) there you go, so you can decide what you want. I wanted our place virtually maintenance free and we're in the country... you just have to read what each mix has and then open a browser and google each of the flowers, grasses or plants....am planting seed at the end of the month on lake side hill so the tall grasses will sway in the breeze next year and the flowers will be magic! or at least I hope :-) let us see what you decide Paula !

Oh my gosh! I just saw only part of my link pasted. (thus the ape contractors) ha!

Here's the real one. http://www.houzz.com/professionals/landscape-contractors/c/Milwaukee--WI/d/10

bananamamma, thank you so much! That is very encouraging news. I've already looked up suppliers in the northern Ohio area (and actually found our local newspaper published an article on microclover lawns a few years ago) so we'll have no trouble getting it, and my husband is totally convinced. So glad I read this thread!

Good luck feeny! you're going to love it!