Oh! They look just like the giant round yews I used to have on the corners of my house. One yew in the yard was removed after we moved in by my very useful DH and I hemmed and hawed and thought about what to do with the others since I didn't want to see DH destroy his back. Well, I finally decided that I didn't want huge bare spots next to the house and have to put something else there anyway. So I went with the major trimming and I really like the result. HERE'S WHAT I DID: I would NOT recommend cutting them back to 2 feet even though eventually they will grow back. The trimming can be done in stages so you are not left with a bare stump. 1) You can cut back the bush hard all over as far as the green goes to leave some green showing. I did this first. Yours look much too tall like mine were. 2) Then, if you look inside the yews, you can see that there is basically a trunk with radiating branches and the green is mostly on the ends of the branches. What I did was to trim off all the lower radiating branches and leave the top of the bush green. The result will be a vase shaped bush. I wanted to make mine narrower to keep off the house siding and because they were blocking the path. The trunk and branches are actually quite attractive and the top can be rounded or shaped naturally or done like topiary if you want. This left a lot of room underneath the bush where I can plant bulbs or anything else. The yew roots don't seem like they are too thick or shallow for other plants. This will let you keep the shrubs, make them smaller, trim them away from the house, and plant more plants in front of them. If you would like a photo, email me and I'll see if I can figure it out. I just dropped in on this forum for a minute, but had to respond. Susan

Did they tell you how the root the plant from cuttings? Viburnums are generally not too tricky to propagate from cuttings but there are techniques that will definitely enhance your chances of success. Timing. Ideally you want cuttings in the softwood stage - the tip of the branch bendable but not so bendy that it does not snap off. So any time from late spring through summer. You want a tip cutting that has at least two sets of leaves - about 3-5" in length. And preferrably no flowers (if any, cut off). Make the cut about 1" below the second set of leaves - strip these off. Dip in rooting hormone then plant in a well draining starting medium with the lower leaf nodes below the soil. Cut the remaining leaves in half to reduce transipration. It helps a lot if you place the starts in their pots inside a clear plastic bag to prevent evaporation, keeping the plastic off the leaves. Bottom heat, if you can provide it, will hasten root development. Provide room temperatures - right around 70F is good - and keep out of direct sunlight. Keep the potting medium moist but not wet. Rooting should occur in about 4-6 weeks. Once firm rooting has been established, the cuttings can be planted up into a larger pot. But it will take time for a proper root system to develop and you may not be able to plant them out in the garden without protection for a couple of growing seasons. A greenhouse or cold frame would be helpful. Can't say how likely your cuttings are to take this late in the season but it is always suggested to expect a fair percentage of failure at any time. IOW, take a whole lot more cuttings than you think you need :-)

Yes, may as well just go ahead with the new planting. I can't say for absolute certain, but I suspect you will not have much of any issue with whatever's been left behind. +oM

Since I'm never sure quite which holes the voles may currently be active in, I buy about a dozen snap traps, baited with a tiny piece of pita bread and peanut butter and put them all around the holes I can find. We hadn't had any issues with other creatures being caught, but our snowshoe hare has gotten her big feet close to them. Nhbabs might have been the one who suggested a box on top, so I've been taking peat trays (the ones that usually hold six annuals) and putting those over the traps. I haven't been weighing them down. The snap traps seem to work pretty well. I've also found that surprisingly, if I only catch a couple voles there is soooooo much less damage in the garden. My voles are weird though as they don't seem to devour my roots. I have tunnels everywhere and when I catch a few, the tunnels go away. But I have not had the devastating plant loss as others here.