Hard to tell if this is sun or shade. Maybe rip out the shrubs that need so much pruning and replace with dwarf tidier ones. Two that I had great luck with were goldmound or magic carpet spirea, and Ms. Kim lilac. Also the globe arborvitae. And dwarf mugo pines. Another option is maybe Mr. Airy fothergilla. I see them in parking lots around town, can't be too hard to maintain, although someone on this forum told me they need acid soil. Perhaps they would need to be treated with Miracid so I don't know if that's too much work. They just keep a tidy form. Also wine and roses weigela or spilled wine weigela which I think is smaller. These are some shrubs I have grown that don't need much pruning.

Oh, another shrub comes to mind, shrubby cinquefoil. It also stays tidy without much work. Oh, and "Little Henry" sweetspire. Not a fast grower in my experience . . .

Thank you!
This area gets a lot of Sun, except one side on the right.
I’m not really up on my gardening knowledge, but I know the soil is excellent here. Everything is super vibrant.
Is it hard to remove all these things? There is that decorative grass that has expanded and is really hard to control. How could I dig these things out?
Lastly, do you think having a mulch border is a good idea? The grass has grown right up to the cement septic, it’s really hard to weedwack- and locks bad.

Also, I love all your suggestions! We have the shrubby cinquefoil in the front yard (never knew it’s name). I also love the pine, it’s really cool! Does that lilac only bloom in the spring?

The landscape you have is pretty simple, hydrangea, grasses, daylily and Montauk Daisy? It is simple enough to maintain as well. It looks like you got some spring freeze damage that needs to be cut back. All it needs is a haircut, some weeding no doubt and fresh mulch if needed.

Pay someone to do that. That will be cheaper than ripping everything out and starting over and hoping you pick plants that never need any care.

Yes, I didn't suggest tearing it all out, just the shrub that looks like it needs a lot of pruning. However, yes, a good hard prune at the right time of year will easily revive what you have, but if this is your cottage, you might not get there at the right time for a revival prune, that's why I suggested tearing out the ones that need pruning. Day lilies are wonderful but they spread like wild and need constant weeding to keep from overrunning the space. Also, you don't have to really plant that much new, mulched space between the plants would be OK in this setting. You just want something pretty to look at instead of the plain utilitarian mound . . .

Ms. Kim only blooms once, and the rest of the year it is "meh" to look at. But it doesn't spread like a full sized lilac, keeps to itself without much pruning, which is why I recommended it. It blooms later in the year than the large lilacs, early June instead of mid May. But if you're not around then, maybe sub one of the dwarf weigelas, they bloom later in the year. Or a dwarf flowering almond. I grew those around my deck at a house I had in Philly, don't need much pruning . . . Shrubby cinquefoil is also a summer blooming shrub . . . yes a tad boring at other times . . . nothing is perfect. Some of the ones with more three season interest, like red twig dogwood, need pruning to keep full and tidy looking.

…for a nice contrast and a good ground cover surface to walk on …i love pea gravel…watering goes right through it into the ground…( no mud or puddles) …cover all the ground around the plants you with weed cloth ….so nothing grows in the gravel…. make a nice wide border around the septic tank that you can walk on easily to sit on the edge….in some areas the pea gravel comes in different shades…so call around about that option too…we use it for paths in our garden as it seems so much more natural than solid surfaces…

Thank you! The pea gravel makes sense up against the cement. I will do this. In general it’s very hard for me to get up in May- it’s the season for dance recitals and baseball. I’ll look again at pruning vs tearing out.

What should I do about the grasses? They have spread terribly and seem hard to dig out. I haven’t exactly tried though.

Usually laying a tarp …with something heavy to keep it in place…over the areas you want the grass to die ..works… making it very easy to remove with a regular rake or flat edge shovel…after it dies

If you have rocks for the pea gravel border it looks more natural and is fun to create An uneven border to accommodate the shrubs you are leaving…… and decrease any big expanses of gravel as well

I also just use garbage bags to kill the grass… easier to cut shapely beds aground the shrubs…