Where are you (state and zone) and which way faces south/north/etc.?

if those little sticks are the sand cherry.. they look about 5 feet too close to the house ... and maybe ten ..... take a gander at the link

never forget.. plants are planted.. to hide the foundation.. NOT ON IT ...

give your tiny babes .. plenty of room to become what its genetics say its going to be.. or you will be out there pruning it all the time

and since those two plants can fully envelop the whole space.. i dont really know what more you need.. besides time ...

if you move them out.. and create a nice 10 to 12 foot bed at the house.. you can put in all kinds of perennials ... and make a real statement ...

a nice retaining wall ... about 3 high across the front.. sweeping around the hill dropping away on the right would really anchor the house to the landscape ... rather than the illusion that the house wants to slip down that hill .. [the hill drops.. the wall would stay even with the house ... so that you would have a flat garden bed]

ken

https://www.google.com/search?q=sand+cherry&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMI3tWWirznxgIVU1yICh0rAgSv&biw=966&bih=745&dpr=0.9

Can you take one photo from farther away and one relatively close so we get a better feel for what the overall picture is?

My thought was similar to Ken's, that your new plants look too close to the house though it's difficult to tell from the one shot posted. When I plant shrubs I look up the width (which is usually size at 10 years.) I then add a couple of feet so I can do any needed work on the house and also 10% to 20% of the 10 year width to account for growth past 10 years since I don't want to be a slave to pruning or have branches damage the house. Since Missouri Botanical Garden says this plant get to 8' wide, the plant's base should be a minimum of 7 feet from the house (1/2 of 8'= 4' plus 2' plus 10%-20%.) You can do similar math for the Hybiscus.

For other plants, try a medium sized evergreen or a small tree such as a disease resistant flowering crabapple planted diagonally off the right corner. In between the shrubs you can plant some larger easy care shade-loving perennials such as Astilbe, Actaea simplex (often listed as Cimicifuga racemosa), especially one of the dark-leafed forms such as Brunetter or Hillside Black Beauty, hosta, ferns, Hakone grass (I like the gold one), or smaller shrubs such as Diervilla sessilifolia Cool Splash, Annabelle Hydrangea (you'll need to remove suckers annually to keep it from spreading) or Microbiota decussata AKA Russian arborvitae (though it isn't an arborvitae), a shade tolerant evergreen. Having a range of color size and texture in the leaves will keep the garden interesting even when plants aren't blooming. If you plant the non-spreaders in clumps of several, they will be more visually effective when viewed from the road.

If DH doesn't want to move the shrubs out, you should consider doing it yourself since those are way too close. They will be a hassle to keep pruned - far more time and energy pruning them than moving them now or in the early fall if your weather is too hot now. They will also be truly ugly with a flat back side and an unbalanced profile.

The Hibiscus could be either a perennial or a shrub, depending on what kind. I would ask your mom if she knows because if it's the shrub, the gas company will be justifiable annoyed if you block their ability to access the meter and it may cause problems with the roots being so close. Even if it's the perennial, I'd move it out another foot because it's a large perennial and it might get damaged if the gas company needs to access the meter.

I'll also suggest that since a small wall is out of the picture, plant taller shrubs or perennials down near the end that slopes down so that the garden doesn't slope down visually but has a more level top.

Given the length of the house from the garage to the bottom of the slope and the fact that it is sloping, that bed should be about 3x as wide as it is. I would also balloon it out and wrap it wide around the corner on the right to allow for larger plants there. Perhaps a ninebark to the far right (my 'Summer Wine' is 8x8), or a Serviceberry or a Pagoda dogwood, maybe throw in three Thuja occidentalis 'Malonyana Aurea' down there as well.

tj

NHBabs, we will be moving them this fall. Pretty sure the hibiscus is a perennial so I will also move that so it's not quite so close. There are 3 small stumps in the bed from the shrubs we removed so i'm hoping they won't be a nuisance as I try to do more in this space...

Tj, thank you for your input as well. I will add your suggestions to my list of plants to look up! My list is getting bigger & bigger every day!

Should I plant anything under the red maple? It looks so lonely,but maybe once I get more filled in by the house, it will be better standing alone?

Thanks again! :-)

You could also plant some false cypress 'Gold Mop' for color contrast as they are yellow. They grow to about 4 feet and don't require shearing.