Bushes going brown

I salvaged two bushes last winter so I'm not exactly sure what they are. I've had them in pots up until last month where I planted them but now they are slowly going brown .

They are planted in a bed that used to have bamboo so it's topped with a weed barrier and bark chip.

Is there anyway to save these bushes?

 

Probably No.
Just wait and see.

 

They look suspiciously like Ceanothus. Notoriously temperamental! Scrape the bark mulch away from the trunks, give them a balanced feed and snip out all the brown twigs. They might come back, they might not.