Did they show you a planting plan beforehand?

Yes, they did on overview from the top showing the plans. I didn’t realize (although I should have) it would look so busy.

What look are you looking for? (Something more specific and detailed than "contemporary"). Because there's no point in anyone here making random suggestions, that don't fit with what you want.

Great point! I obviously have very little experience or education on landscaping, but I like the look of plants that have a clear shape or form and don’t get too huge and bushy (if that makes sense 😬). Also I don’t like how mine is super packed, I like having some space between plants so it doesn’t look so cluttered. Simple clean lines. I tend to be attracted to more Asian/Zen plants.

Walk around your/other neighborhoods and find some landscaping that you like and take pictures. Post them and people will be able to see what you like and help you get there.

Great advice, thank you!

A handsome, modern style house. The stiff columnar shrubs are really unattractive I think, and there are too many different types of shrubbery. I'd like grasses, large and small, interspersed with some conifers.

The tree in one of the pictures looks to be MUCH too close to the house.

Following

Here's a stab at reorganization. Not plant specific.

we need to ID each plant.. so we can decide what their future potential is ... especially the unnamed junipers ....

im thinking that some of the larger plants ... have the potential to get huge.. and are planted too close to the house ... including those balls planted in the little cubby hole ...along the side of the house ...

i dont know who drew that plan.. but it wasnt anyone with any gardening background ... a pet peeve of mine ...

the base problem here.. is the tiny depth of the beds compared to the height of the house ... trying to jam too much stuff [and i use the term lightly]... too close to the house ... if you really want to incorporate the house into the lot. you will need to come out into the lawn ...

do you really have any use for that lawn.. besides mowing it all the time.. or worse.. paying to have it mowed ...

once you come out into the lawn.. the house will then become a part of the property ... rather than sitting there in a box of lawn ... wrapped in small beds of too large plants ... yard tried to address that by adding the tree formed flowering shrubs out in the lawn ...

i highly agree to just look around... and dont limit yourself to the subdivision.. if its all brand new ... while you are tooling around town.. just see what looks good to you.. snap a pic.. and perhaps we can hone in on what pleases you .. if you post a pic of course ...

once you establish a goal .. what you want to create.. making it happen is the easy part ...

ken

ps: wouldnt it be nice.. if you could open all those closed blinds.. because there was greenery to block the view from the road ... that ought to be goal number one.. dont you think ...

Best way to make it more private would be to plant screening out near the sidewalk instead of immediately in front of the windows. In fact technically this house doesn't need any foundation planting because there are no exposed foundations involved. And with its appearance being in the manner of a sprawling mansion it looks hemmed in by all that foundation planting - this probably has a lot to do with your looking at the existing situation and thinking there is too much planting. An enclosing planting going around the edges of the lot instead of across the front of the house would do a lot to create an estate like setting in keeping with the look and size of the house.

Oh my goodness, thank you ALL for all of this wonderful advice. I’m reading through all of this and making a to do list, and when I have more info and and pics I’ll be back! Thank you so much!

It does not need a lot of plants. I'd put one Soft Touch Holly under the windows then group the Sky Pencil's together. Stop shearing the top of the Sky Pencil, the flat top looks silly. Find new homes for the other plants.

I am NOT looking at the front landscape thinking that it needs to always remain as empty lawn open to the street. The fact is that only so much can be shown in an illustration. If one starts drawing foreground elements over the "background" foundation planting, it generally covers portions of it and serves to add confusion to the main thing that I am trying to show, and that the OP is interested in seeing. And focusing on the foundation planting area does not simultaneously lend itself to focusing on perimeter planting. Sometimes, there is an opportunity to show street trees, but usually the photograph is not framed well for it. In many yards, I would not have plantings (other than street trees) near the street, as it would be extra maintenance that the homeowner would not want. If they do, they are free to bring it up and include the proper photographs.