Overgrown Yard - What to do?

If you have bought a house whose yard was ignored or abused by its former owners, do not be in a hurry to correct the problem, tempting as it may seem. It´s a better idea to take a slow but steady course of action that lets you first trim back ungainly overgrowth and then discover what´s worth keeping and what´s not. It´s a good idea to live in a house for a year--through the four seasons to see how the landscaping elements work before making any landscape changes. That old maple tree you may have initially wanted to remove may be doing a great job of shielding out the hot summer sun on the patio. You won´t know that until you´ve seen how and where the summer sun effects the house.