They aren't a very good look are they emmarene? I liked them at first but now I am thinking that they just crowd the already small space.

Second vote for removing the shrubs which I think might be white pine, but are definitely pine of some type.

Yes on limbing up but keeping the tree. Mid-September is best for planting grass, but you may instead want to plant a groundcover under much of the tree since grass often won't grow well in much shade. Add a low groundcover under the roses if they are healthy and you like them, something like Veronica 'Georgia Blue'.

Shrubs along the house front are far too close to the house and should be removed.

The yard features that seem oppressive to me are the low hanging limbs and branches of the tree, and the pair of evergreens flanking the driveway. (All votes so far seem to be in sync on this.) The tree needs maintenance -- raising the canopy. The evergreens should just go away. If raising the canopy does not allow sufficient light to come below the tree, the grass will never be good again, making it time to change over to a groundcover.

I don't think the knockout roses are ever going to make the right statement. I'd get rid of them, plant a groundcover that side of the walk, center a shrub (that takes those conditions) below the window, and flank the steps with some color that will be tall enough to be seen from a distance.

Ok, the pines will go! (I should have known they weren't a spruce :) Thank you for the groundcover recommendation NHbabs. I really don't love the roses there but they seem to do pretty well.

I like the idea of color on both sides of the steps, I am still trying to figure out the sun/shade pattern. What does will by the door may not do well on the other side. And likely to change once the tree is trimmed up like Yaardvark says. All I know is that last year the roses were blooming in September, so that area must stay pretty sunny. Not living there makes it hard to watch it all day.

Yaardvark are you saying to remove that entire branch? Funny how I didn't even notice how it looked until I saw it in a picture and now it seems quite obvious. If I look back at previous posts will I find some tips on raising the canopy? There is another birch in the back yard that needs attention along with one in the neighbor's yard that has branches overhanging my son's roof. Definitely time to do some trimming! Any tips for do it yourselfers? I saw a tree pruner on a long pole at the big box store yesterday. Is that how homeowners tackle that job?

Thank you guys for your help once again! Stay tuned for the back and side yards lol!

As a minimum, I like to see the unobstructed first floor of house. If there are good architectural features above that, then maybe more. Eventually as a tree gets quite large, one might want all of the canopy to be all the way above the house, like an umbrella.

Yes, I'm saying remove the entire branch, and surely there are others needing the same. Study general tree pruning a bit so as not to leave stubs and cut at the right place. A pole pruner is very handy. Also, a 10" folding pruning saw is useful for many things.

Yes to the pole saw but I also like to use a Sawzall with a long pruning blade attached when I can reach branches. Let your son do it. There is something very rewarding in removing branches, I don't look forward to it but I feel so good when I am finished. You'll be surprised by how much larger the house and garden seem after you are done.

I feel like we could trim small branches now but maybe should wait for that big main branch to be cut in winter? It seems to be recommended for the best chance of the tree recovering and sealing up the wound?

Trying to get my son to learn along with me about taking care of the yard and trees...He is great at keeping things mowed but needs encouragement to "see" what else needs to be done! :)

If you're talking about the one I put "X" on, or ones like it, it will not make a difference. Better to do now.

Re pruning: Fall is a bad time. Summer OK. Best time, early spring. So do now or wait a year.

Have you looked into having a tree service trim all three trees? We had it done a few years ago and it was a flat $400 to trim however many we had. They removed a large pine tree, a dying birch, and cleaned out much of the dense interior branches of a shade tree, which allowed filtered sunlight to reach the garden. Removing just one branch from the birch won't help much with reestablishing the lawn or growing plants. I would seriously consider removing the birch since there's the large tree in the hell strip. Some birch varieties have a short life span because of bronze birch borer. They've gotten my two birches and most of the other in the neighborhood.

I wouldn't remove the birch. It looks healthy, and though birches aren't long-lived compared to some other trees, yours looks like it has the potential for a good number of years ahead of it. The Missouri Botanical garden's page on this plant says, "River birches are Missouri natives that are naturally adapted to the climate and are extremely resistant to birch borer", so I would imagine that applies to NE as well.

Don't remove the birch, it frames the doorway nice and softens the house but I agree-- removing that limb helps get more light in which might help with the grass (also that limb might be a problem for the house). Also I think it's a shame to get rid of a tree unless one absolutely has to.

I also think the right-side evergreen is fine/shouldn't be a priority. It forms a diagonal with the trees which helps balance the composition for now. I'd focus more on filling the sparse bed that has the knockouts.

Look for some lush, shade tolerant greens, dark glossy ones would look especially nice against the white house. Dwarf hydrangea in back and whatever small to mid-sized hostsa that tickle your fancy elsewhere could work. Though, you might want a dark-leaved small evergreen instead of the hydrangea (perhaps there's some shade tolerant dwarf hollies?)

I think some sort of focal point (e.g. pot or birdbath) would be cute in that same bed where it curves out (doesn't have to be white I just made it that way to match the door).

Also I say blue because the house has a lot of brown on it. Blue & brown go nice together :) I think a flower color palette of yellow, white, and blue would look very nice with this house and would match the shady "serene" quality it has.

I have considered a tree service. Especially when I look up and wonder if it is ok to cut here or there. The stubborn part of me wants to be able to do it myself. It may be wise to hire it done once, watch how they do it, and then maintain if from there. I saw a very nicely trimmed birch nearby in the neighborhood and it is gorgeous! Reminded me of the "umbrella" that Yaardvark mentioned. I also have wondered if the tree is worth the trouble with the grass. I am thinking keep it until the other one gets a little more size and ability to shade the house. Not sure if it ever really will, probably just the yard.

I looked at the pines again and wondered if maybe just removing the left one would be the thing to do! Probably will start with the left and re-evaluate. Thank you for the color suggestions Jay/Jax, I think yellow, blue, and white would be really pretty. I am trying to figure out how much sun that area gets. The roses are doing ok there, I think it is morning shade and afternoon sun which might be hard on shade plants? Right next to the door probably stays shady most of the time....

Thank you again for everyone's comments. It helps to think this stuff through!

Cut the pines, one each year for holiday trees if you celebrate Christmas. White pines are enormous trees that grow fast. We have ones that are 60+ feet tall and drip pine pitch on anything under them like parked cars. Cheaper to remove when small and they are really close to the drive.

If you want a positive ID, post on Name that Plant, but white pines are pretty unmistakeable with ~3"-4" soft feeling needles in bundles of 5.

Too bad that tree wasn't planted just a few feet over instead of directly in front of the main section of the house. Summer cooling should be a priority, but I think those who say keep the tree have never had a small yard and house where an out-of-scale tree dictates the entire landscape and doesn't allow any other plantings. My domineering tree is in the backyard and after 15 years, I took out all the lawn and made island beds and paths throughout. I'm steadily losing all my backyard sun and have had to move most of my blooming perennials to the front and replace with shade plants. The other problem is that that tree sucks every bit of water from my garden. I can never water enough in our dry summers.

I don't know that I'd want a whole yard of just groundcover. Reminds me of when I lived in So. California and there was solid ivy or ice plant where you'd expect to see lawn. To me, that has a neglected, commercial-property appearance. But I love plants so I want an actual garden with a variety of plants.

Can the honey locust be removed? That would give you sun in the front of the lawn and the grass should do better. The honey locust's roots are also in the lawn, so you've got two large trees competing for the water and nutrients with the lawn. And birches are thirsty trees.

Yikes, I never thought about those pines getting that large. You make a very good point NHBabs. I will look closer to see if that is what they are for sure.

It is a bit of a dilemma with the two trees. Neither one is ideally placed. I wonder if the city planted the honey locust. We better check in to that. I know my son is pretty tired of cleaning up after the messy birch and hates having the worst lawn on the block. But he may hate that hot sun all day even worse. I think trimming it up first will be our first step.

Tree vs lawn would be no contest for me. I think the tree is a good amount of what gives the house character as it's pretty generic on its own.

There are videos on how to prune a large tree, and books you could check out from the library. Taking out a limb that large could be risky for the house if not done properly.

Edited to add that several of my neighbors have multi trunked large river birches in their front yards and nice grass. It can be done. I'm in the process of rehabilitating a shady, tree-dominant back yard, and a lot of it has to do with water and fertilizer.

I believe that the previous owner had several dogs fenced off in this front yard and that contributed to its demise. I do see some large surface roots so will probably do a pretty large mulch circle (Not sure my son will keep up with ground cover) and then grass.

What about the blue conifer on the right, is it his tree too? An arborist is a good idea. They can trim higher than you can reach with the pole saw and know how to let more light through. It does not harm the tree and is done all the time. Only use a service that has a real arborist. A "tree trimmer" may be less expensive but they can be dodgy and often uninsured.

I may be wrong but I assumed the blue conifer belonged to the neighbor. We need to ask. The roots are above ground right next to the foundation of my son's house. An arborist is an excellent idea!

"Lawn Care for Dummies." My dad swears by that book!