The yews look like 'facer' plants - they are there to hide the foundation/concrete behind them. If you do replace them, I'd use another evergreen - boxwood maybe - to disguise the concrete wall behind it. I'd start by researching the cultivar of the yews and the ultimate size they will grow. You may just want to be patient, let them grow in a bit, and trim them into a flat formal hedge. They do look very healthy and happy in their current location. I'd let them grow just high enough to disguise the concrete wall. I'd plant a row of the same type variegated hostas to keep with the formality, but I'm partial to formal landscaping myself, and this is how I have mine. I would add only a subtle curve to the border past the gutter to join it with a planting bed behind that along that white fence. Upright boxwood, Green Mountain, would look spectacular flanking that staircase, or you could go with some large urns on a pedestal, or Tanyosho Pine would look great as well - one on each side of the staircase next to the bottom stair - a nice lighter green contrast against the darker yews. I too would plant an ornamental tree or tall shrub in the corner by the gutter on the left hand side of your house. A red japanese maple, Emperor I, is a nice variety, and would add nice color to your landscape amongst all that green. Along that fence, I would plant peonies or annabelle hydrangea, or any other waist high perennial to give some height and continuity to the yews that run along the house. A tall piece of statuary on the right hand side, right where that rake is, and highlight the tree and statuary with uplighting, that would look fantastic. And then I would paint the body of the house grey. LOL. My childhood home was similar to yours in architecture, but it was grey, white and black, so I always wanted another grey, white and black house.

I don't like the sound of that. It must go if it is a tree. I knew it wasn't a from a nearby tree, so I will blame the birds for this one. I was hoping for some type of small native bush or something. Oh, well. Thanks for the ID.

I don't know if this is true or not but I always imagined that bulbs "suck in" nutrients from dying leaves that are no longer needed. Bulbs seem to get noticeably plumper while the leaves are dying and they are going dormant. I have yanked garlic out of the ground while it was herbacious, left it to dry on a counter in the dark inside, and the bulbs definitely got bigger/rounder as the leaves died. I also saw an experiment where a grass seed was planted in soil that was completely devoid of phosphorus, a vital nutrient. As the plant grew, it always put out the next leaf exactly as the previous leaf was dying, so that it could recycle the phosphorus. Finally the plant bloomed, produced a single seed, and died as that seed plumped up. So I would move them into dormancy while leaves are still on them, and just pull the leaves off when they yellow and come right off with only the slightest tug.

Botan you are kidding! They are that tough to remove? I was going to bow saw them by hand down to about 4' then have dh chain saw them off at ground level. None of the multi stems are that big around. I know I will be fighting suckers probably forever. I planned on painting them with brush begone. It would be impossible to get a backhoe or a pickup anywhere near them. I see I have my work cut out for me. I will wait until I am really frustrated by job or family and then go out and attack the quinces to releave the stress.