native .. schmative .... so many facts.. too much coffee .... ooooooohhhhhhh ... dramatic moan ... linden .. let me get this straight ... you have an otherwise healthy tree.. and this guy wants to .. on a preventative basis ... drill holes and add cables.. so that he can insure that you pay him every few years to come back a 'maintain' this threat to your garage ... sounds like a tuition investment program for his son in college.. or a repeating boat payment ... be done with it ... ITS A THREAT ... the poplars ... get rid of them .. period ... figure out how to do it legally with the lot owner ... since you will have the tree guys out.. offer to pay for it ... since it will be a minor cost since they are there .... DO NOT RELY ON THE COURTS for you might be homeless for the few years it takes to sue them ... the box elder .... i have a 50 footer .. what a carp tree ... horrible form .. ugly ... and those darn bugs ... harmless but irritating when they come in the house ... be done with it ... its just another maple.. and you should know my hated of such ... the smaller ... if you were to keep it .. just cut off the two side ones.. and ignore the tree canopy reduction theory ... its a maple.. with no root zone impact from transplant/planting ... it will probably double in size in 2 years ... but i would still get rid of it ... did i hit them all ... ??? was there an ash ... is not EAB an issue up there.. if so.. just get rid of the ash .... if the team is there.. do everything that needs to be done .. its a lot cheaper than repeatedly calling them back ... as i recall.. you have down-sized the property size .... and you need all the space you can get... on your new 1/2 acre ... WHY WASTE SPACE WITH THESE WEEDS .... native or not ... if you had 5 acres.. and more space than you need.. what the heck .. but we both know you can do so much better ... the best upside.. this time of year.. the chips are all wood ... have them leave them.. and make some nice beds next spring ... with my first house.. i 'saved' all the prior/original owners 'problems' for the history of it .... what a nightmare.. and the happiest day of my life at that house... was when the last was gone ... YOU CAN DO SO MUCH BETTER ... please... just bite the bit.. and be done with them ... ken PS: as you are addicted to gardening .... have no guilt.... as i am sure.. you will replace it all if not twice... mother earth on the plus side ... Here is a link that might be useful: WI EAB

I would get rid of the roots I colored red and keep the o es colored green. I would get rid of that knot of roots in the center. The ones in red are there because they look to be either above the flare or wrapping around the trunk and could girdle the tree. It is tough to try to tell someone what to prune when you only have one pic, since it is a bit of a three dimensional operation.

Snow cover actually protects plants from winter winds and fluctuating temps. Do you know to prune new clematis back to 6-12 inches above the crown for the first two-three years? This allows the energy to help establish a good root system. Do this pruning before the new spring growth. Pruning is different than pinching. Here is a link about pinching new clematis growth. You can do a search to find more postings on pinching if you wish. http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1809751/pinching-out-new-growth?n=5 I like to put alfalfa pellets around the plants when the new growth appears. Also may fertilize with a tomato fertilizer. Do not fertilize after buds appear as that will force quick opening and bloom fading. Fertilizing older plants after they have been pruned back in the later spring/early summer may give more blooms in the fall.

This is where you have a big disconnect with what you want, what you’re willing to do, and your budget. You just don’t want your complacency with mediocre challenged, even though you want better. You aren’t willing to do what it takes to get better. Which is fatal to design. The kitchen needs help. It was an unfortunate design, and needs attention and changes to turn it into something that will have been worth that expense. You’re not willing to listen to suggestions to revisit the design and improve it. That’s a giant red flag for a designer. What makes the rest of the house different as a project? Will you listen to anything about it? What about this whole home redesign is going to be appealing to a designer to work with you, if you just don’t listen to the suggestions that you’re given? What’s in it for a person who wants to see the joy of something coming together better than the homeowner ever imagined it could be? Because that’s the why behind it. This is not a “portfolio job”. It won’t reflect well on their skills if you’re resistant to doing what it takes to get a result worth having. It’s not even a job where they are going to earn from product sales. And that isn’t about money, although that will rear its head. The communication style and fear of letting go to listen and trust makes for huge frustrations. That’s not fun. If they can’t really make a difference in the home, because you don’t let them, they are not going to be into you and your 2 year plan to timesuck more than they’re actually getting paid. Money isn’t enough for that frustration level. And there won’t be enough money either, because no one would be willing to pay the real time costs for the $500 lifeline 15 minute Zoom to fix a problem that could have been prevented with better listening and more trust. You‘re just are not a good candidate for a good designer. A newbie, who hadn’t yet learned? That you might get. The experienced one that you need will be “too busy”. So, DIY it to death, and just live with the results you create. It seems that you’re happy enough with that, and don’t really care to have a next level home. So why go to the angst and expense of having your worldview challenged for the better? Spend your money on the 1001 suggestions of a crowd sourced plan, and don’t take it up a notch. Why bother with wanting something better and more? It will just challenge your complacency.