Next question: Why, oh why, would anyone plant a hedge that grows to 18 feet tall by 30 feet wide right next to a house??? Am I better off pulling it out or will aggressive pruning keep it in shape? I don't know anything about this particular plant, but I am also puzzled by the plants people use close to the house. One place I lived had a star magnolia that was beautiful but completely blocked both dining room windows, forsythias right up against the house, and a pyracantha in front of the cleanout door on the chimney. Beats me....

Linda, Without a photo it is impossable to tell what ilex you have, but just shooting off my hip by your description I will guess it is a variety of Ilex x meserveae. It's very wide with long leggy branches and has a wide opening in the middle and back due to the branches being way too long and leggy. Again I am speculating not knowing the variety but the wide opening is not due to lack of pruning it is more likely winter damage and the long leggy branches are the result of the shrub growing into its natural form. One of the wonderful things about hollies is they love to be pruned and you can do this year round (most folks will waite until the holiday season and use their cuttings in seasonal displays.) I would strongly suggest you determine what type of holly you have and deceide whether its sited correctly...after all what is the point of having a shrub growing where you have to constantly shear it into a form that is not natural for the plant. kt

You can also see the opposite branching arrangement in the first picture. Agree that it is some sort of native viburnum. Could also be Viburnum rufidulum, but V. prunifolium has more range in Ohio overall as does Viburnum lentago.

2&3 paper birch AKA white birch Betula papyrifera 4 central tree is a hemlock Tsuga canadensis. Tree on right paper birch, tree on left might be a cherry. Tree in back can't see enough of. 6 probably a red maple - does it have reddish tone to twigs and buds? 7 probably sugar maple 8 beech - the leaves hanging on, that color, are the key to this ID. It will have long, pointed, chestnut-colored buds 9. probably burning bush - does it have little wings or projections on the twigs? If so, this is an invasive that will freely seed into the woods and displace native shrubs. Blueberries would be good replacement. 10 Gray birch, probably Most probably lilacs Can't see enough of it, but probably an ash or a maple 13 - More probably a maple, though can't see enough detail to tell against the background - do you have a closeup or zoom? 14&15 can't see enough detail to tell against the background - do you have a closeup or zoom? 16 spruce 17 spruce behind 18 Maple, probably red (look at buds & twigs for color) 19 same as 18 20 & 21 correctly labeled 23 white pine in back, can't see enough of anything else Looks like second growth farm field, perhaps old pasture. Are there rock walls and/or barbed wire in your woods? If you hold a white piece of paper behind the twigs of your lower branches and take a close-up, I can do a better job.