Hi! The house we recently moved into came with large azaleas throughout the front flower beds. It appears they were previously shaped to look like hedges as they border the house along the front. They have lots of leaves on the top & around the sides (none in the middle - is that normal?). They just flowered nicely & lost their blooms a couple weeks ago. The issue is they are just too big for my preference. I would like to scale them down significantly. They are growing to be above the windows, and I would like to see the house. They are also too close to the house (for me) and are overhanging onto the driveway. I attempted to cut back one but think I did it wrong. Since I want to cut them down & back, will there be no leaves on them for a while until they regrow? My goals for them are to be smaller so you can see the house & flower beds, to continue to grow & flower, & to avoid having the HOA yell at me if they look sad & pathetic after pruning. I've attached a picture of what one of them looks like (big & leafy) & another picture of the poor victim of my "pruning." It is all twigs & branches at this point. I stopped cutting for fear that I would end up cutting it down to the ground out of frustration. Any advice & tips are greatly appreciated on how to save the victim & what to do with the azaleas that all look like the one attached. Thanks!

What they all look like now (about 3-4 feet tall):

The victim :(