The hydrangeas look good. A LIGHT pruning on the adjacent bushes by hand (not shearing them into a ball). Remove the white plastic shutters. Dark (brown or black) mulch on bare soil. Mulch is not decorative it’s just to prevent weeds and help the soil retain moisture.

The Hydrangeas look beautiful, it's the other bushes that look bad. The two large bushes on either side of the walk look like their almost blocking it, and seem to have a lot of browning around their bases. I'm not sure pruning is going to help them, or the one between the Hydrangeas. Also, you don't prune Hydrangeas at this time of the year.

Light pruning, weed, mulch. The goal is to make your home look well tended to. People don't know what mulch is for, nor do they need to. Fresh mulch contributes to the impression that your home is well tended to. I'd take down the black post with the hanging plant and lantern for a cleaner look.

Where in the world are you?

When, realistically, are you planning on listing the house?

Can you ID the bushes that aren't hydrangeas?

If the apparently dead tree behind the house on your property?

Weeding the vinca will help, as will mulching places the vinca hasn't filled in. What to do about the shrubbery will depend on the answers to the first three questions.

Illustration of above good suggestions:

Can't tell if the low white area showing behind the shrubs is just a painted foundation or something else. If it's possible to paint that one of the darker colors in the brick, the leggy shrubs would be less obvious. I also added another hydrangea between the two shrubs near the door.

Thank you for all of your advice!

I'm in New Jersey. Those are azalea bushes. Flower beautiful in the spring, but not my favorite the rest of the year.

I'm planning to sell the house as soon as possible.

The dead tree in the back is not on our property.

It's hard to tell from the one photo but I'd concentrate on the planting area in front of the door by removing the two overgrown azaleas and planting shrubs that make it look more open, organized, and inviting.

It's the wrong time of year to plant shrubs. Just give the azaleas a light trim and mulch.

I would consider this plant. Not sure what it is called, may be japanese barberry. It is a relatively small plant and doesn’t need very much care.

I agree with the suggestions to mulch and trim those bushes near your front door. I would definitely NOT plant barberry anywhere near an entrance; those bushes have serious SPIKES.

Leave the hydrangeas and rip out the other bushes. Fill in the gaps with more hostas. The two do well together.

I know you said you are doing nothing else, but please consider taking the shutters off. They are so faux looking it is spoiling the look of what the original house was.

Houses in NJ are in demand, unless you live in some off-the-beaten-path area that is not experiencing a hot market. So, I'm saying it will sell probably without you doing anything...but, yeah--those shrubs look like it would be hard to get into the front door.

Pruning, by hand, maybe a bit at a time ( meaning cut some back, step back & assess) , plus the mulch, as suggested above, is best. You don’t have to worry about “ wrong time “ to prune be the blooming will recover eventually, so you’re not obliged to follow rules to ensure best blooms next year. But just trying not to hack things down aggressively that they look sad.

I surely wouldn’t rip stuff out unless you just can’t get clear of doorway/ pathway by pruning. It is definitely harder to establish shrubs on short notice, without a lot of attention- don’t overwater, don’t underwater; depending on how the sun hits, shrubs which may not be acclimated to same sun conditions yet, even if are right for the spot in general , might be unhappy at first. Whereas the one that are there have good root systems, likely. This is based on your idea that you might be showing the house soon.

I could be off base if stuff looks really awful up close.

Here are a few suggestions:

Make sure you have a clear walking entrance to your front door. If no sidewalks, buy some concrete ones from a big box store, and make a path that is walkable to the front door. The hydranga's are just fine. The azaela need to be cut to the ground and then restart again next season, unless, they are in the way of front walkway, then, remove them completely.

Please post an update when you are ready.

Just a note that the front door seems to be approached from the right, via a walkway behind the shrubs in question. Notice the black iron railing that runs straight across the raised front stoop directly in front of the door, then slants down following stairs that lead to the right. There are no stairs toward the front.