Overgrown? Where?

Strikes me more as sparse than overgrown. Some of the rhododendrons have been chopped lopsidedly but a bit of repruning would fix that. Then I’d fill in all the empty space with something more interesting than mulch.

Let everything leaf out and have a summer of showing you what it really looks like. Add some sun loving annuals at the walkway edge of the beds for now, and refresh the mulch.

All the rhododendron do not look happy in this location. If they were happy they would get too large for these small beds anyway. Either toss them or transplant them to a better shadier location where they can grow unmolested.

What might be 2 Hydrangea paniculata along the garage wall have had permanently damaging chop downs. Those are also too big a shrub for such small beds.

I think I see a couple spirea. Hard to tell what the other shrubs are so it is hard to say what to keep and what to toss. The only thing I want to keep at this point is what looks like a Kousa Dogwood or a Japanese maple to the right of the front door.

These beds need a redo even if they are not overgrown per se. Here is a short Northeastish plant list to make the bone structure of new beds. Fill in with some perennials to taste.

Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Nana Lutea'

Hetz Midget Arborvitae

Juniperus conferta 'All Gold'

Spirea

Hydrangea macrophylla

“Overgrown” was clearly poor word choice! Misshapen, unattractive, misplaced, not making me happy would be more accurate.

The chopped shrubs by the garage are burning bush I believe. A landscaper suggested bringing them down drastically to help regrown in a better shape. If they don’t come back I won’t be sad. Christopher- thank you for this helpful list.

Cut the Burning Bush below the roots and toss them whatever you do.