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newbie w/ questions, re: diy landscaping
Hi ladies,
I have been lurking here for a bit and you all seem very knowledgeable and helpful! I am hoping you won't mind passing some of that knowledge and helpfulness my way 
Here is my situation...we have a front yard that is bare and a pretty sorry looking bank account so anything we do will have to be a diy project, lol!
The front of our house has 3 windows (a single and a double) that I would like to plant something in front of but have NO clue what! My initial thought is something that is evergreen that I can plant annuals against each year but I also LOVE the idea of rose bushes (the easy kind, knock out roses?) What do they look like in the winter? Bare bushes right? (I am in NJ, if it matters) The house is north facing so I think it is partial light? Any ideas are helpful, but I am leaning towards something mod-fast growing b/c I really don't like the bare, empty, just growing in look.
Issue #2, we have this tree in our front yard that I think is TOO close to our house. It is relatively young, maybe 15 yrs old and it's roots reach our foundation which I am very concerned about (should I be? - it jsut seems bad to me) it also conceals our front doorway so much so that any rain moisture never fully dires out and we have an algea problem =( So I want to cut the tre down. (We have other small trees on our propterty and maybe someday we will plant a new tree further from the house to replace it. My ? is, has anyone ever cut down a tree themselves? The trunk is about the size of my thigh so I don't think it will be that difficult. Would we HAVE to get the stump ground right away or could it wait a year? (sorry if this is an ignorant ?, I am totally 101 on this topic)
If you are still reading...THANK YOU
Re: newbie w/ questions, re: diy landscaping
I think an evergreen flowering shrub is your answer. There are many differenent types of evergreen rhododendron and some evergreen azaleas that could work.
But you can easily do a mix of evergreen and deciduous so that you have some color all year round but also some nicer flowers. Knock out roses are low maintanence but usually like more light than it sounds like you have. Hydrangea might be a better solution. They like morning sun and afternoon shade. There are some fun varieities with two-toned colored flowers for your area. I'm planting our front flower beds this year with some dwarf boxwood (evergreens), Northern Lights-Orchid Lighst azaleas (deciduous but has lavender flowers with changing foliage in the fall), and Incredibull hydrangea (large white flowers with extra strong stems).
As for cutting down a tree...we cut done a 50 year old black walnut tree that was cracked a leaning toward our house along with a dead cherry tree last fall. See my house blog for pictures & info.
Let me know if you have any questions.