Overgrown Shrubs Are Swallowing My House
Junipers over the windows, a cedar hedge nobody can reach the top of, a yew that has eaten the front step, a stump that keeps sprouting. Trim it, remove it or replace it. The honest answer for each, and the one case where a shrub is legally a tree. Lumen Landscaping trims, takes out and replaces overgrown shrubs and hedges across Hamilton: call (905) 906-0671 or send the form for a free written quote.
- Fully insured
- 1-year craftsmanship warranty
- Hamilton owned and operated
Quick to quote, quick to start, we answer every call.
Serving Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville and the wider region, from Guelph to Niagara.
Get your fast, free quote
We reply fast, usually within the hour.
The problem
What you are seeing
The shrubs that were planted to dress up the foundation have taken it over. The junipers are above the window sills and brown underneath. The cedar hedge along the driveway is three metres tall and nobody owns a ladder that reaches the top, so it gets wider every year and the car brushes it. The yew by the front step has grown over the step. In the backyard there is a stump from a bush someone cut down years ago that sends up a thicket of shoots every summer. The house looks smaller than it is, and the front door is in shadow.
Most foundation plantings were chosen small and planted close to the house, and a shrub does not stop at the size on the tag. Twenty years on it is a tree pretending to be a bush. Some can be brought back with a hard trim. Some cannot, because cedars and junipers do not grow back from old, bare wood, and cutting into it leaves holes that never fill. Some are simply the wrong plant in the wrong place and are worth taking out, stump and all, and replacing with something that fits.
One of our customers had 26 overgrown bushes cleared out, and then a patio out front and a retaining wall built where they had been.
Our Work
Shrubs out, gardens in
Why shrubs swallow a house
Almost every overgrown foundation bed got there the same way.
- Planted small and close: A shrub in a pot looks right a foot from the wall. Twenty years later it is the size it was always going to be, against a house that has not moved.
- Years without a cut: A shrub trimmed every year stays the size you want. A shrub left for a decade has to be cut hard, and some kinds do not take a hard cut.
- Cedars and junipers that are bare inside: Cedars, junipers and most evergreens only grow from green wood. A hedge sheared only on its face for years is a thin green skin over dead brown wood, and there is no cutting it smaller without exposing that.
- A stump left in the ground: A bush cut off at the ground is not gone. Many kinds send up shoots from the stump and the roots for years, thicker each time they are cut.
- Kept for privacy: The overgrown cedar is often the only thing between the patio and the neighbour's window, so it stays. Our page on no privacy in the backyard covers the better ways to get that screen.
Google reviews
What our customers say
“The owner was professional, communicated well, and his crew especially Ari did a great job. I really enjoyed the experience of choosing each plant with the owner's help and now our yard feels like a true oasis.”
“Great experience with Lumen Landscaping. They completely transformed my front yard with a great mix of trees, hydrangeas, and flowers. They brought the yard back to life and did a really clean, professional job.”
“Great job having small grass lawn replaced with wood chips. Didnt know we could get a machine through the small gate - the top layer, weed barrier cloth and thick layer of chips. They cleaned up after and were done in a day.”
The fix
Trim, remove or replace: the three honest answers
Trim. For a hedge, we trim all sides and the top clean and collect and haul away the trimmings. For low tree branches, we shape them up or take them back to the trunk, whichever you prefer. We trim and shape trees, shrubs, hedges and cedars so they stay healthy and tidy, late spring to midsummer for most hedges and cedars, and we avoid cutting back into old, bare wood on cedars because it does not grow back. A trim is the answer when the plant is the right one in the right place and has just been left too long. See our tree and shrub trimming page for the trimming and pruning we do.
Remove. When the plant is the wrong size for the spot, is bare inside, or is a stump that keeps sprouting, it comes out properly: cut down, the stump and roots dug out, everything hauled away, and the ground left level. A whole bed of removals is usually followed by a reset of the bed itself, which is our garden bed cleanup, mulch and edging service, and the weeds under the old shrubs are on our page about overgrown garden beds.
Replace. The best part. We help you choose the plants with several options per area, suited to your preferences, the soil and the light, and chosen for the size they will be in twenty years, not the size on the tag. We pick them up from a cost effective nursery with an excellent selection, plant each one at the right depth, backfilled and watered in, and bill the plants at cost with the nursery discount passed on. A large plant or a small tree in a seven gallon pot gives a front bed shape on the day it goes in.
We trim and take out shrubs, hedges and stumps. We do not remove trees: a tree that has to come down is an arborist's job, and we work around their schedule when a bed is being reset. Before any removal, we check the rules with you. In Oakville a permit is needed to remove a tree 15 cm or more in diameter at chest height, hedges with stems that size included. Hamilton has older private tree by-laws in Ancaster, Dundas and Stoney Creek, and a city-wide one has been proposed and was at consultation in spring 2026, so we check hamilton.ca for where it stands. On a rural lot in Flamborough, where the old cedar windbreaks and hedgerows are the biggest we see, the question is usually whether the hedge is a hedge or a row of trees, and we measure before we quote.
Check this yourself first
A few minutes with your hand inside the shrub and a tape measure around the biggest stems will sort the trims from the removals.
- Look for green inside: Part the branches of a cedar or juniper and look at the inner wood. Green shoots inside mean it can be cut back and will fill in. Bare brown wood means it will not, and a trim has to stay within the green skin.
- Measure the stems at chest height: Wrap a tape around the biggest stem at about chest height and divide by three. In Oakville, a tree or a hedge with stems 15 cm or more across needs a permit to remove, and in Mississauga the same 15 cm rule applies to any private tree. A shrub that size is a tree in the eyes of the by-law.
- Check the gap to the house: A shrub against the siding holds damp against the wall and blocks the window. Decide whether a trim can open a gap you can walk through, or whether the plant is simply too big for the spot.
- Decide the keepers: Walk the yard and sort the plants into three piles: the ones you like, the ones you would keep if they were smaller, and the ones you would not miss. That list is the whole plan.
- When to call: Shrubs over the windows, a hedge you cannot reach, a plant over the step, or a stump that keeps sprouting is worth sorting this season. Call (905) 906-0671 and we will tell you honestly which is a trim and which is a removal.
Planning
What a lasting fix includes, and what changes the price
A lasting fix always includes
- An honest sort: which plants are a trim, which are a removal, which are worth replacing
- Hedges trimmed on all sides and the top, within the green, trimmings hauled away
- Removals cut down with the stump and roots dug out, the ground left level
- The by-law checked before anything over the threshold is touched
- Replacements chosen for the size they will be, planted at the right depth and watered in, at cost
- The bed reset around them where it needs it
What affects the price
- How many hedges to trim, and how tall and long they are
- How many shrubs to remove, and how big their stumps and roots are
- Hauling: a trailer of trimmings or several loads of stumps
- New plants, by pot size, at cost
- A bed reset, fabric and mulch after the removals
- A permit, where the town requires one
- Access: front beds by the driveway or a backyard through a narrow gate
A typical job, in plain words. Picture a front foundation bed with two junipers over the windows, a yew over the step and a cedar hedge along the drive. The hedge gets trimmed on all sides and the top, staying in the green. The junipers and the yew are bare inside and too close to the house, so they come out with their stumps, the bed is stripped and edged, and three shrubs chosen for the spot go in with fresh mulch. The windows get their light back by the end of the day.
Every quote is written and free, and materials are billed at what they cost us with no markup.
Related
Related pages
Services: tree and shrub trimming, gardens and planting and garden bed cleanup, mulch and edging. Related problems: overgrown garden beds and no privacy in the backyard. Areas: Hamilton, Flamborough and Oakville. More answers on our FAQ page, and more problems we fix.
FAQs
Overgrown shrub and hedge questions
Only within the green. Cedars do not grow back from old, bare wood, so cutting a hedge back into the brown leaves holes that never fill. We trim the top and the sides to the edge of the green and keep it there with a yearly cut. If the hedge is far past that, replacement is the honest answer.
Late spring to midsummer suits most hedges and cedars. Trees and shrubs that flower are pruned around their flowering, and most trees are best pruned in late winter or early spring. We tell you when yours should be done.
Often, yes. Many shrubs send up shoots from the stump and the roots for years, thicker each time. When we remove a bush we cut it down, dig out the stump and roots, haul everything away and leave the ground level, so it is gone and the bed is ready to replant.
Something chosen for the size it will be in twenty years, for your soil and for the light that bed gets. We give you several options per area, pick the plants up from a cost effective nursery, plant them properly and bill them at cost with the nursery discount passed on. A seven gallon shrub or small tree gives the bed shape on day one.
Yes. Removals, the bed reset, new plants, mulch, and a walkway or a garden wall if you want them, by one crew in one project. A customer who had 26 bushes cleared out finished with a patio and a retaining wall where they had been. Tell us what you are picturing and we will quote it together.
Sometimes, because a shrub with a thick enough stem is a tree under the by-law. In Oakville a permit is needed for any tree 15 cm or more in diameter at chest height, hedges with stems that size included. Hamilton has older by-laws in Ancaster, Dundas and Stoney Creek and a city-wide one proposed. We measure and check before we quote.
How it works
Getting started is easy
- 1
Call or send the form
Tell us what you have in mind. We reply fast, usually within the hour.
- 2
Get your free quote
We look at your project and send you a clear, written quote quickly.
- 3
We build it
We start quickly and back our craftsmanship with a 1-year warranty.
Get Free Quote
Get a Free Quote to Get Your House Back
Tell us what is growing where and which plants you would keep if they were smaller, and send a photo of the front of the house. We will sort the trims from the removals and get back to you fast with a free written quote.