I would pull out those shrubs and remove the blocks that are squaring up the bed. Roses are not low maintenance and must be sprayed with poison for good results. They can be pretty picky about conditions as well. You might visit with a local nursery to learn about plants that are better suited to that spot. Curve that bed around to intersect with the walk. Divide and transplant those hostas there. Here's what I'd do on the garage wall. These are asparagus ferns and monkey grass. You can use something that does well in you locale and change the pot color to your liking.

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Thanks for your reply. I did a lot of research before zeroing in on those particular roses, which supposedly don't need all that spraying and usual rose maintenance. I had also considered doing hostas in that spot, or alternating hostas and day lilies, but after more consideration I decided they sort of lack that persistent "pop" of color (never mind the transient yellow/orange of the day lilies). I'm not closed-minded to suggestions other than the roses, though. It's just that, after much research, they seem to be the only thing that will reliably flower for most of the warmer months without excessive coaxing.

I'm trying to avoid pots since anything in a pot requires WAY more coddling from me. I already have a bunch of other container plants around the house, so hoping to keep some of these landscaping elements a bit more in Mother Nature's care. :)

You might want to investigate self-wicking pots. My veg garden is doing very well and is watered weekly. It is in tubs with gallon jugs serving as the reservoir and landscape fabric doing the wicking. Great way to recycle old plastic pop bottles in smaller pots too.

If you were to underscore the bay window with well formed shrubs and let that be a done deal, why couldn't you use the flanking space, which there is a good bit of, to provide color? That's the forte of annuals. It seems like you are trying to search for a holy grail -- the non-stop-blooming shrub -- when it doesn't really exist. There's something wrong with even roses that supposedly bloom on and on. The beloved and theoretically trouble-free gas station rose (I forget its name) get's pretty rank with a little age.

I don't think roses are very well suited as a foundation planting unless they are part of a deep multilayered bed. Although the rose flowers are beautiful, the form and shape of rose bushes themselves aren't especially attractive as a stand alone plants along the front of a home.

Also consider the amount of sun your spot receives. You mention roses and hostas, and the sun requirements for these are very different.

Do you want foundation planting ideas or a rose bed. Roses are not no maintenance no matter what you read. They do not grow in the same area as hostas for instance. One needs sun the other shade. You need to take a trip to your local garden center . That bed is IMO too shallow and roses really are not foundation plants . A good foundation planting bed is deep and filled with many choices that give you all season color and that takes planning , get some pro help about what you want from this bed. I think you need to connect plantings from the bare side of the walk to this bed you are working on .

You might only need one rose under the window. I suggest going to the Rose Forum and asking the true size this rose will get.

Some folks on my block have either hostas and/or roses (among other things) in a similar position in front of the bay window, which is the south-facing side of the house, so ::shrug:: some evidence that the location is fine for either. However, I will say that most of the folks with roses have them in combination with a few other plants, but none of the roses I saw are "shrub" type roses.

This is Zone 5b, by the way. We have 100 degree days, -20 degree days, days of unmitigated rain, and everything in between.

I'm open to suggestions, but don't want anything that is too big an overhaul. I'm happy to keep the right side with the hostas the same, and don't want to totally change the layout of the plant bed. Just want to get rid of those dead bushes and switch for plants that are a little more aesthetically pleasing than the (live or dead) barberries, without increasing the maintenance demands too much.

Since the brick wall of the house effectively reaches to the ground there actually isn't a visible foundation that needs to be masked with planting. So you could just have something like cobbles there instead. Not having plantings in that spot would also make it a lot easier to do things like wash the window.

It's funny you should say that, because I entertained the idea of tearing out the bushes and doing a sort of patio in that spot, with only the far left area maintained for some kind of small shrub or tree, but to do it right would probably be a chunk of change, based on how much it cost to do the patio in my backyard. I've seen some DIY plant bed "patios" assembled with those large pavers, but I have also seen how bad that can look if not done well or maintained.

When you're digging to replace the shrubs, also remove the bricks outlining the planting area and, when you replace them, reset the bricks with the tops of the bricks being level with the ground -- makes for easier mowing.

Aucuba bushes would give you green and and off white cream or yellow year round.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Aucuba+japonica&t=ffcm&iax=images&ia=images&iai=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-PMijZe1JH34%2FUMzpEBUKFzI%2FAAAAAAAAA_Q%2FFwu4mqyqgq0%2Fs1600%2FAucuba-japonica-Crotonifolia-1.jpg

Aucuba is a shade plant.