"Landscaping"

Adam and I have spent the last 2 or 3 weekends "landscaping".  So far, we have completed Stage One: Search and Destroy.  The end result is a messy, muddy, barren landscape of possibilities.  

In case you doubted the necessity of our project, here are the before photos.  Our front entry was just an overgrown jumble of shrubs and sumacs, and a monster vine overtook the kitchen window.  If you look closely, you may even see our bird feeder hidden among the sumacs.  

The sumacs were the first to go.  Their roots were creeping up into the siding and pushing through the driveway, and neighborhood cats were staking out forest territories in their canopy. 

Next up were the snowberry shrubs (I'm not sure if snowberry is their real name - that's just what I'm calling them).  We chopped these down to the ground, but left the roots intact.  If they return next spring in a more minimalist state, then they can stay.  If not, then too bad.  I doubt we'll miss them.  

Please send us your landscaping ideas and concept diagrams (with Zone 4 species clearly labeled according to seasonal color, mature height, and nutritional requirements) before Stage Two: Suburban Renewal begins next spring.  

TJ thanks you for your help.