This link seems a tad sponsored, but it happens to sum up my suggestions pretty nicely: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/gardening/21015382/foundation-planting-basics

I also vote for some forsythia, rhododendrons, and hosta plants 🌱 best of luck! I hope we get to see some progress pics 😸

I’ve recently become a fan of Roy Diblik’s garden designs. He uses plants that grow well together, and he plants them densely so weeds are naturally suppressed. The result is a very low-maintenance garden that looks like a Monet painting, and even in fall the layers of “dead” plants provide visual interest.

Some wood lilies would look great there.

Damn, who put that grass in your flowerbed? 😕

I’d avoid new arborvitae altogether, personally. They’re kinda boring, highly attractive to deer, and prone to dying back in patches. Here are two listicles that may help you brainstorm about what you’re looking for:

BH&G on front gardens for curb appeal

BH&G on welcoming entryways

Generally speaking, foundation plantings (your current setup) are there to soften the angles and edges of the building so current design advice is often to select for shrubs that can be pruned into round shapes or ones whose growth patterns are more globular. Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus) is a nice east coast native that grows relatively round and can take pruning well. Sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia) is another native shrub, one that keeps its spent flowers through winter and provides a bit of visual interest while other plants are asleep. Selecting plants with different foliage colors or textures, or ones whose branches are bright colors during winter can also help your garden stay interesting when the plants are dormant.

If I were in your shoes, I’d also be thinking about tying the sides of the walkway into the gardens on either side of the stairs. Small ground cover flowers and spring/summer bulbs could bring additional color and lead they eye up to the larger plants near the house, and putting some of them in with the taller elements will help to make the whole thing more cohesive.

Depending on where you are in Essex county, there used to be a nice garden center/nursery I’d occasionally go to in Montclair (can’t remember the name) but there’s a huge place over in Green Village that has a number of display gardens and incredibly knowledgeable staff (they’re pricey though). That second one is near the shops in Green Village and Loantaka.