foundation plantings are planted to hide the foundation .. NOT ON THE FOUNDATION... and that was prior owners first mistake ... with good annual pruning ... some stuff can fit in that tiny bed ... but why privet??? ... that was their second mistake ... bottom line ... they are badly planted.. the wrong plant.. overly mature ... and need to go ... yes.. yo can make a 3 year renovation project of them .. might not be pretty during that time ... but lifes too short.. just get rid of them ... the mulberry is a nightmare weed tree... i could send you a couple thousand seedlings if you want more.. get rid of it ... increase the bed by 5 to 10 feet... and make a nice bed for some flowers ... if you want to work that hard ... and then leave 2 feet free and clear at the foundation ... taking into account the size of the plants you plant ... ken

It is not knotweed......and it does look like a tree seedling (root shoot), what type I am not sure. But you will get faster and accurate ID's if you use the forum - Name That Plant - that is intended for plant identification. This is not the right place :-)

Thank you to everyone for chiming in. I did consider Bathsheba also but this rose has sturdy, compact canes that bloom with a single rose at the end. It doesn’t grow like a climber. My Bathsheba is a vigorous grower with thinner canes and often more than one bloom at the tip. Gentle Hermione is one I hadn’t considered. After looking at pictures, I won’t rule it out but the bloom form does appear different. Thanks again! I did come across one Austin by chance that looked more similar but it’s rare in the US. Does anyone have experience/pictures of Troilus? I happened across it being offered and when I looked at the pictures on HMF they appeared close.

@WoW Washington please explain how the OP is to tell you the PG of their windows when they wrote: "I wanted to understand the specs of the current windows before I start calling around for selected replacement windows in hopes of not having to replace ALL the windows due to style/quality differences. For the life of me I can't seem to find any identifying marks on the existing windows." @Eric H - even if you knew the specs of the windows when they were new, I don't think those old specs would give you any kind of useful benchmark to buy windows today. Millions of people move into houses and replace the windows when they have no idea what brand the existing older windows were or their specs. I would replace in a first stage just the windows in the room or rooms that are the most problematic in the way of the traffic noise and/or where you feel they may be weakest or most deteriorated. After that, take stock of whether you want to continue in other rooms. I understand you are concerned about contractors wanting to upsell you. But at some point - even if you knew the specs of your existing windows - you are going to have to rely on a windows contractor. If you have 3 different quotes to do just 1-2 rooms, you can get a feel for the cost, and for those contractors' reliability. It would also help you a lot to go to windows showrooms and ask questions and look at what is available. Manufacturer websites will tell you where those showrooms are, as well as provide a list of approved installers.