Geographically, where are you? How about closer pictures ... from curb & beyond ... and one that shows planting in front of face of house ...? How about a good picture of the tree lilac? (Take from best angle; show trunk structure and canopy.) "The Eastern Hemlock has been engulfed in the ivy and throws of the symmetry... " Symmetry where? It does not show in the picture so please provide one that explains what you mean. Why is the far end of the ivy path not lined up with the entrance door? Are you able to use Round-up? Do you have yard tools and equipment?

If you're going to own a car it requires that you know something about car maintenance: periodically, the oil and tires must be changed; it must be washed and fluids filled, etc. These are things one learns to do in order to have the pleasure and convenience of owning their own vehicle. Similarly, if you're going to own a lawn, you learn to mow it weekly, edge it periodically, and keep the weeds out, etc. Groundcover is no different. Depending on what plant you make it of, you must learn how to prepare for it, what maintenance that plant requires, and how to control it. Groundcover requires a bit different approach than grass, but it is not necessarily harder or more time consuming. It is just different. I find it to be easier so my yard is 100% groundcover. The number one difference is that weeds must be kept out. This is not harder than weekly mowing. It's just different and there are methods one can employ to make the job easier. In the long run, groundcover can be considerably less work after it's established (which depends on the plant used) than a lawn. Your example of "battling an ivy plant for years" has me thinking that no one is employing any effective methods of controlling it. It is a bit like never mowing, edging or weeding the lawn and then blaming the grass for being out of control. One thing is for sure, only weeds will be happy if you try to grow grass where there not sufficient light to do it. It boils down to the fact that you must have something growing to cover the ground, or you must cover the ground with mulch (and replenish it ongoing). The something growing can be a sad attempt at a lawn (which is what is there now); it can be groundcover; or it can be a mixed variety of plants (like in that picture above). What else is there other than solid hardscaping which is not the least practical? Of those solutions you can already see exactly what one of them looks like because you have it now. You can probably envision the mixed variety of plants covering the ground. Is there any question that it would not be the highest maintenance of any solution? If you take another look at the left side of the photo I submitted of the houses with sloping fronts, you'll notice that it is solid groundcover. It doesn't look like there's a weed in it. You can see at its left side a sharp division where it abuts its neighbor's grass lawn. Each planting is distinctly separate. The groundcover is neither running into the grass, nor is it rampaging over the edges of the walk or steps. How is this even possible? The fact is, it happens in millions of places all over the country. It's obvious that one can learn how to employ plants in such a way. Or they can refuse to do that.

Mine may not be the voice of reason but at least it's the voice of what makes sense to me. I've never watered my lawn. I garden on an acre in Southern New England. I garden to sustain pollinators (i.e., bees, butterflies, hummingbirds) since without them we wouldn't have gardens. I researched perennial plants that sustain pollinators, winter sowed seeds, grew & planted them. I continue to maintain my full-sun, part-sun & shade gardens with that as my goal. Along the way, it made me smile that as I dug up and planted garden beds I was reducing the amount of lawn/grass which to me is anathema. In my view lawn isn't evil; it's simply as superfluous as last year's fashions. We don't need it and it serves little (if any) purpose. Don't even bring up golf courses. Golf is simply as superfluous as last year's menu. Sorry to cut this short. Houzz has decided they don't approve of my comments. I'm outta here.

Thank you all for your great feedback and recommendations so far. I've included my follow-ups to your comments below as well as a link to additional images of the property at the bottom. arcy_gw – Correct, there are no parking lanes or sidewalks on the street across the front of my property so no one uses the current walkway. I added a view of the street from my house to show as a reference. ShadyWillowFarm – Thank you! I would be open to a new color for the front door, but haven’t thought about it yet. oreolucca1 – Great, thank you for your recos. Yes that’s one of the tricky parts as my property is north facing, but some areas (about 8 feet in front of windows) get full sun all day, and closer areas/corners to the house get part sun/shade. ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 – City is Atlanta. I’ve added a closer shot of the shrub in the left corner you noted. What do you think? Yes, I would consider coming out into the lawn. RedRyder – Thank you! I’ve seen multiple articles on those who’s shrubs or trees have grown past their expectations or aren’t able to maintain so great to hear that feedback and the varieties I should stick to in order to avoid something similar. Yardvaark – After looking back at my 2 photos I posted in my original post, I agree with your feedback. It’s impossible to get an accurate feel for what’s needed with those so I have added new ones to this post. Hope these help? What are your thoughts after looking at these? Let me know. Tsjmjh – No, I don’t have a deer problem (that I know of). Love your shrubs (especially the dwarf blue spruce!). Celerygirl – Wow! I had to make sure you had the right house when I first saw your mockups. These are great. Thank you! With the new photos I’ve posted here, do you think that sidewalk would work with the tree on the left? Decoenthusiaste – Thank you for your recos and feedback. That’s great advice about the nursery guarantee. emmarene9 – Yes, the house faces north. It’s Ivy on the right side that has spread and been working recently to take down. Regarding the left side, I’ve posted a few additional images here that hopefully gives a better idea. Thoughts? Yes there’s a brick planter against and attached to the left side of the house, currently sitting empty. There were many additional images to upload so I've included them in this ideabook: Front Yard_CURRENT