Also, it's not clear how much sun you get. You say it doesn't get much morning sun, but does that mean it gets afternoon sun or that it's basically a shady area that gets very little sun? Also what kind of soil do you have- does it seem heavy and moist or sandy or ???

When did you plant the hydrangeas and what are the symptoms on not thriving? You could plant hostas between the hydrangeas. They are thugs that will do fine with little light or water. If the hydrangeas are white, get some green and white hostas to plant between them. Get hostas that will get big, then, if the hydrangeas don't get going, you'll have the hostas.

In general, they say shrubs sleep the first year (don't grow), creep the next year (barely grow) and leap after that. So, I'm wondering if your problem is just they were too recently planted. Some hydrangeas don't like cold weather, so the type of hydrangea and your zone matters. In particularly, low temperatures with no snow are problematic.

Looks like the first thing you need is a path to the front door.

Ditto. And make it wide enough that it's inviting.

Also, how deep are the beds in front of the house, front to back. They look very narrow.

It seems to me hydrangeas would get way too big. I envision a planting bed of low flowers a foot or two tall along the house and future front walk.

While they are small, I would move the hydrangeas farther away from the house. I think you just need to give them time. Patience is one of the most important words in the gardening dictionary.

I think hydrangeas would be lovely as long as you prune them when needed and make sure they are getting sufficient water. Most hydrangeas will do fine in part shade, although they prefer morning sun to afternoon.

Also, Nancy and Cecily asked important questions, so knowing the answers would be very helpful and could change advice given.

At this point we don't even know what type of hydrangeas we're giving advice about. Paniculatas require full sun. Other species not so much.

Pretty little home. If those hydrangeas are closer than 4’ from your house, they’re too close. If you want shrubs, you need to widen the bed so plants can get more air movement, sunshine, and rain.