common problem of alberta spruce... aka DAS ... dwarf alberta spruce ... aka picea glauca conica ...

where are you.. big city name.. zone not enough ...

july/august is NOT the best planting time.. so rip them out.. and prepare for fall or winter planting ... note section one here: https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

what these plants did ... was add a vertical element to your otherwise rather flat garden bed ... helping to break up the height of the front of the house ...

that said.. i dont know your zone well enough to make suggestions ...

ken

Thanks for the input. Ken, I'm in Louisville, Kentucky. We do have irrigation, so I could set it to water them every day or twice a day, etc. Maybe I'll pull them out now and wait until fall to replace, tho.

Yardvaark, the splash of color is super pretty, but the problem, to me, with seasonal color, is that in the winter months, which we have plenty of here, is that there would be no color there and a big empty spot. What would you recommend then? Our neighbors have huge black cast iron urns in place that they fill seasonally with plantings, but I priced out similar urns at $500+ each, which is so expensive. plus it seems that half the houses in my neighborhood have such urns in various colors of light to dark, and I hate to do what everyone else is doing.

I think you have to accept the entire front as a whole. If you have shrubs with winter interest, possibly evergreens, groundcovers, also possibly evergreen, perennials and trees in the yard, etc. the few square feet immediately next to the entrance can be mulched if there is no winter color is possible. Having large or tall objects at that position, in lieu of nothing, is not an advantage.

I would suggest using elegant planters in place of the dwarf spruces. In the planters you could plant dwarf roses, etc.

Boxwoods are evergreen, slow growing , easy to trim either into a round shape, pyramidal shape or can be left frilly, but contained. They can be used in containers for added height because they are slow growing .There are different varieties, some which are dwarf, which all have pretty much the same general characteristics. You could just plant them in the ground and be distinguished in height from your other shrubs, while not becoming too tall or large ( so as not to crowd the walkway ) , by trimming them into a conical shape. We have a “green velvet boxwood “ in a very small space by our front steps/porch which has been very easy to contain in size.

Nice job with the flowers and colors @Yardvaark! It looks better with some more colors and gives it a nicer and more pleasant look. But @njsmom is maybe right with the seasons and in the colder months, it would look even less colorful and maybe another new evergreen is still better over the whole year. Nice solutions @niccidhg!

Thanks again to everyone who gave their input 11 months ago when I first posted about those evergreens. I neglected to give city name - Louisville, Kentucky.

I had the dying evergreens pulled out last fall, and I finally figured out what I wanted to put in their place. I bought these two trees/pruned bushes at the nursery yesterday and the landscaper will plant them on Tuesday. I thought they added interest and would keep the walkway looking open, rather than closed off, as you guys recommended. I had looked into tall planters, etc, but the cost was so expensive for really nice planters - hundreds of dollars each plus whatever I planted in them. These trees were lovely and were $200 each for a one-time purchase. They are very slow growing and they are "Bergman's Gem Oriental Spruce" and they can be pruned to stay in their shape each year.