Those both look like Type III Clematis so they ideally should be hard pruned every year. They will need something to climb or they can ramble across the ground. Ideally they would be pruned in early spring or late winter rather than now.

The tree appears to be a mountain ash which is not poisonous.

Agreed with everything stated above. I'd research the tree to see what you think of it before getting rid of it. It has issues just like any other tree & you will need to decide for yourself if it is something you would want to keep. It is a very young tree & is still in the need of training. If you decide to keep it, limbing it up is a must for the protection you are looking for.

I think the tree placement is horrible from a landscaping perspective. It's completely wrong --- not only from a security aspect, but it should have been planted on the left side of the house to balance the weight of the garage/second story. Not to be insulting, but it's awful. Getting rid of it will improve your property.

Dig out the clems and place them somewhere. Water deeeeply at first, then continue to water deeply once or twice a week depending on rainfall and heat. You can give them support or plant near a shrub. Then dig out the tree.

Janet, wow, can't imagine why you would have gone there! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Hooha to the landscaping rules you read in a book. This house does not follow the guidelines you read about.

In the defense of the tree, I can see the vision of why the previos owners planted it the way they did, check out ultimate size. I think they planted it to offset the difference between the 2 story & single story. Choice comes down to whether or not you like the tree.

Interesting discussion. I actually like the privacy afforded by the tree. At the same time, the shrub in front of the tree (a yew?) I find to be rather unsightly and blob-ish.

I love all plants when properly placed! I can't detect what the shrub is from the picture. I will have to agree that the shrub is going to be more of the problem than the tree for protection you are seeking. It would be more ideal to place smaller shrubs or perennials at the base of the tree if you decide to keep it.

lalalandwi-

The original poster clearly doesn't like the tree where it is and I agreed it should go.

The tree isn't going to grow tall enough to expose the front door, which the OP wants to see, and it will get much wider as it matures, eventually interferring with the walk to the front door.

Janet, do you know anything about that tree & its ultimate size? Are you in the know how how to train young trees like that?

The tree could get about 30 feet high.

I'm not sure what you mean by training. A young tree should be prune to create a nice shape and a fuller canopy. Then every year, check for branches that are growing in the wrong direction, remove suckers, and water sprouts. There isn't much else you should do to a tree.

The mature size of all plants should be considered before placing them into the landscape, then plant accordingly because most plants will typically reach the stated size and sometimes larger.

Here are a few photos of mountain ash trees. Notice how they spread out as they age.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mountain Ash Trees

I don't know about lalalandwi, but I know how I would train that tree - the same way I train all my ash, oak, maple, locust, etc. (I have about 30). The side branches can be pruned so that the canopy starts higher up. This is best to do when the tree is young and continues each year as it gets bigger. That way the canopy can be high enough to not interfere with folks walking on the sidewalk, mowing under it and so forth. I hate getting whacked in the face with a branch when mowing.
But, if I didn't like where it was, I'd remove it. Even if the tree is pruned like I said, the clematis will fill the the space. If they are the type that get as big as I think they will, I'd move them.

The shrub is a blob and should go. I just hate shrubs that have been pruned into blobs.

Raising the canopy like cnetter is referring to is exactly the training I was referring to. There is a lot more decisions to be made before just simply whacking it down as you are suggesting. Your comments were that of landscape design, maybe it is planted there for more reasons such as a shade tree to conserve on energy bills? I just think sweetpea should really weigh out all the options before just simply taking it down. I'm all for planting trees to help out the environment as much as I can. Yes, I have taken down trees in my yard & for very good reason. I had a Norway Maple as my shade tree which is notorious for dropping it's leaves late. I was turning on my heat much quicker in fall because of it. I took it down & replaced it with something much better & now am saving $ on my electric bills. A few others that were diseased, yet replaced them with another tree & then some. Outside of what trees can do for our atmosphere, they also provide homes for critters & in this case food as well as other options for humans.

"The ripe berries furnish an acidulous and astringent gargle for sore throats and inflamed tonsils. For their anti-scorbutic properties, they have been used in scurvy. The astringent infusion is used as a remedy in haemorrhoids and strangury.

The fruit is a favourite food of birds. A delicious jelly is made from the berries, which is excellent with cold game or wild fowl, and a wholesome kind of perry or cider can also be made from them.

In Northern Europe they are dried for flour, and when fermented yield a strong spirit. The Welsh used to brew an ale from the berries, the secret of which is now lost."

Heck, we can even make beer...LOL!

Now, on the other hand...right tree right place. I can not tell by the picture how far from the house it is. Another aspect that would bother me is the fruit. Bird doo on the sidewalk, fallen fruit the birds may not have eaten etc.

I would live with it for a season before making any rash decisions.

The berries make a mess.

The OP wants to save the clematis. I think I forgot to mention to dig an 18 inch hole and dig deeply, if possible, to remove the clematis. The tree roots could be all over the place, so removing the clematis will be a challenge.

The bush is the guilty party here. It is the one blocking the front door view. So:

Bush should go.
Clematises should be moved to somewhere else.
Lower branches of the tree should go.

After that, live with it for a while, and then decide if you like the tree or not. If you do not like it, you are the one with the shovel.

I agree with senko.

Thanks for all the help. I had no idea what kind of tree it was, or if it was just an over grown bush/weed. The grounds of this house are SORELY neglected for at least the past several years. We've lived here for a year, and having a small child, and my husband becoming disabled (stroke) just a few weeks after moving in hasn't allowed me nearly enough time to do battle to get it whipped back into shape, but it's a work in progress, and I'm starting now to make a dent.

As far as trees, I'm not one to go cutting them down willy nilly. If you look over the house you can see that there are TONS of trees in the back yard. The lot is .27 of an acre, or something like that, but other than the front lawn, the rest is almost woodland (small strip of lawn in back.) The house is North facing, so we get almost no sun on the front of the house, so I don't think it was planted for utilities purposes.

I plan to rip out the blob shrub asap, I hate those things! And I'll try pruning back the, what was is? Mountain Ash? And see if I can get moving in the direction of a reasonable shape.

I am so sorry to hear about your husband. I couldn't imagine any of that being easy to go through, especially staying strong for your children. You sound like a strong woman that is bound & determined.

Do you think you would use the fruit at all? If not, I don't see a point of keeping it if you don't like it, the berries on the sidewalk might drive you bonkers. If you like the tree you can live with it a season to see what you think. I wouldn't wait too long to decide though. Learning of your situation with your husband, it is still small enough now that you can take it down by yourself. It gets costly to hire people to take them down.

Did you find a happy home for your clems?