On a new job what should I do with this shrub? Also what should I do with this other plant it looks dead. New to gardening any advice, thanks!

I would ask the home owner to please identify them. The owner may also expect certain things to be done when the plants look like this so ask the person what to do with them. The person may have emotional attachments to some plants so it is best to get plant identification and marching orders from the home owner.

Walk thru the garden with the owner and a notepad. Take notes as the homeowner explains things or even record the conversation with a smartphone so you can more clearly reference what was said on that day. If recording, identify the plants and mention where you are located in the garden so, afterwards, you can follow the path as walked just as you did on the day of the recording.

Writing notes sometimes does not work. I have been known to take written notes and then not understand what I wrote down. For example, right now, I currently have something on my grocery list that resembles the words "yellow tip soup" and I don't have the foggiest idea what in the world that was, could be or what did I actually write down. Oh, Lord! ;o))

But the pictures are too far away to hazard a guess of what the plants are. The first one reminds me of an out of control rosemary bush(es). I cannot even clearly see the foliage of the second one. Looks like it has some green leaves along with other reddish ones or maybe there are some reddish, leaf looking flowers at the ends of the branches.

My guess is that the first one is dead Rosemary, the live one behind it is. I think the second one is Glossy Abelia (Abelia x grandiflora). A closer photo would be more conclusive. If it is Abelia you can cut it to the ground in March/April and it will come back thick and lush this Spring.

Luis makes an excellent point that sometimes the owner wants the contractor to tell them the right thing, and sometimes the homeowner has a fixed idea, whether it is a good idea or a bad one -- (for example, topping trees..)

Good eye. It appears to be abelia. Be careful cutting the abelia all the way to the ground. The owner, for some reason, is rowing it as a tree. If this is done because the owner likes that, cutting it down without first checking may cause a few fireworks to go off.

NeedGardeninghelpple

When you say you're "on a new job," what kind of job?

Re the dead creeping rosemary, since the one behind it is alive, my first question would be why is this one dead? A gap or malfunction in the irrigation system, if there is one? You could start by cutting it back to see if there is any living tissue near the base. If so, it could grow back. It clearly hasn't been maintained for quite awhile.

...which is odd, because every other shrub visible in those photos is over-pruned. Someone, either the owner or a bad landscape-maintenance firm, has buzzed those shrubs with no regard to their natural growth habits. In particular, that poor Abelia, which shows its beauty growing like a fountain rather than like a lollipop.*

Because I don't know what your job is—are you the new maintenance firm?—it's hard to advise, but in general I agree with Luis: find out what the owner wants.

*Yeah, one of my five pet peeves: that kind of shrub pruning. I do realize that some people like the way it looks

Thanks everyone. They said I can cut the plants 12 inches off the ground in March/April. I will cut back Rosemary to see if any part is alive and check the irrigation system. The guy who was cutting everything before passed away he had a mental disability but he gardened for them for a long time. Someone mentioned the other plants were improperly cut. To me it looks like too much hedging was done. How can I help these over grown plants. I'm guessing I will ID them and then figure out how to prune them. Thanks everyone!

You could make a map of the property and use it to identify the plants and put notes regarding their care. For reference in the future, when you will not remember the information well. Unless you recorded conversations of course.