Free Landscape Gardening Ideas

Driveway Landscape Ideas

Most people who are interested in landscaping only look at the back of the house, or the large garden areas. What about putting some time and money into landscaping your driveway. The driveway if more often than not, the most neglected part of our outdoor areas. So, how exactly can you landscape your driveway?

The first thing to remember is that you are not actually changing the driveway itself. You are focusing on the areas around the driveway such as either side of the drive, little garden areas or pathways that may be around the drive. You can change your driveway from a dull tarmac sight to a fresh, vibrant and colourful area of your outdoor area.

The great thing about adding a little landscaping to your driveway is that it is relatively cheap and fairly low maintenance. You can be as creative and as bold as you want to and make your driveway fit in with the rest of your landscaping outside.

Like with any form of landscaping, you need to make a plan. Look at your driveway and figure out what the elements surrounding it are. For example, will a flower, plant, bush or tree at the end of the driveway near the road be picked, pulled and broken by other people in the neighbourhood? Is there a possibility of something being knocked over by the cars using the driveway? Is anything likely to be trampled on?

Instead of putting a bush or a tree that can be ruined by passersby at the bottom of the drive, why not use a pretty fence or a stone wall instead. You can always put the flowers and bushes, etc closer to the house, so then they are not at risk of vandalism. Be careful not to put them in front of any windows so they block any light going into the house.
The footpath is an important part of any driveway, so be careful not to clutter it up with ornaments and plants. The eventuality of these being broken further down the line is high, so keep things off the actual footpath. Keep them on the side of the footpath, but not too close so they are trampled on or kicked over!

You can use hardscape landscaping ideas to really make your driveway special. These hardscape options are things such as fences and walls. They can make your driveway distinctive and compliment your driveway. Add stones or a rock garden and have wild flowers growing within it. See where the driveway has cracks in it? If you do, why not add some wild flower seeds down the crack to allow them to grow within the cracks. If you do this, make sure they won’t be in anyone’s way!

Softscaping ideas will include such things as plants, ornamental trees, water features and so on. These can add a wonderfully sublime touch to an otherwise dull and boring outside area! Add shrubs to your driveway to accent the colours and set it apart from the rest.