A scenic drive
A driveway is often just a long, flat, vacant swath cut from the
street up into the yard. But with a little imagination and careful
planning, this strip doesn’t have to be homely. You see one good-
looking example at left. Here are four more tips that will take the
area along your driveway from boring to breathtaking:1 Choose the right plants We use our drive-
ways for everything from washing the car to
shooting hoops and gassing up the lawn
mower. So the area around a driveway can be
a harsh environment. Choose plants that will
stand up to soapy, oily wash water,
reflected summer heat, piles of
snow and even a stray basketball.
Daylily (Hemerocallis hybrids), artemisia (Artemisia
spp.) and coreopsis (Coreopsis spp.) are three good
perennial options. But it’s still a good idea to set them
back a bit from the driveway’s edge. In the illustration
above, check out how to create a shallow slope of pea gravel
down the length of the bed. This will help drain dirty water
away from the plants.2 Widen the beds^ Gardens next to a driveway don’t have to^
be narrow strips of plants skirting the edge of a concrete sea.
Expand the beds and they actually start to blend into the rest of
the yard. The garden at left is a good example of this. Extra-wide
driveway plantings also reduce the temptation for folks to cut
through, or hop over, the beds on their way to and from the car.3 Direct traffic^ Speaking of cutting through the beds, if this^
is a problem for you, plant hardy, low-growing evergreens, such
as junipers (Juniperus spp.). They’ll mark the path all year while
their prickly textures encourage pedestrians to avoid them.
Put in a stepper or two so folks will choose that route.4 Clear the view^ At the end of the driveway, where your^
property crosses the city sidewalk and meets the road, safety
is the primary concern. When you’re backing the car out, you
need a clear view of pedestrians, street traffic and so on. Most
cities have ordinances limiting the height of plants, fences and
other landscape items, and how far they must be from the street
or sidewalk for good visibility. So while the tall lamppost in the
illustration below looks nice, it’s better to install something a
bit shorter. Keep taller plants closer to the garage and taper the
heights down as the bed nears the street.SHAPE UP Contrast is what keeps your eye
moving through a garden. When there are lots
of interesting things to look at, your eye keeps
seeking the next shape. On the other hand, too
much contrast can create a confusing jumble.
See how the loose mounds of colorful asters
(Symphyotrichum spp.) contrast with the smooth
pumpkins and even the rectangular bale of straw?
There are enough asters and mums that the space
seems unifi ed but not so many that it’s boring.Shallow
pea gravel
slopeDO DON’TGardenGateMagazine.com | GARDEN GATE 73
A scenic drive
A driveway is often just a long, flat, vacant swath cut from the
street up into the yard. But with a little imagination and careful
planning, this strip doesn’t have to be homely. You see one good-
looking example at left. Here are four more tips that will take the
area along your driveway from boring to breathtaking:1 Choose the right plants We use our drive-
ways for everything from washing the car to
shooting hoops and gassing up the lawn
mower. So the area around a driveway can be
a harsh environment. Choose plants that will
stand up to soapy, oily wash water,
reflectedsummerheat,pilesof
snowandevena straybasketball.
Daylily(Hemerocallishybrids),artemisia(Artemisia
spp.)andcoreopsis(Coreopsisspp.)arethreegood
perennialoptions.Butit’sstilla goodideatosetthem
backa bitfromthedriveway’sedge.Intheillustration
above,checkouthowtocreatea shallowslopeofpeagravel
downthelengthofthebed.Thiswillhelpdraindirtywater
awayfromtheplants.2 WidenthebedsGardensnexttoa drivewaydon’thaveto
benarrowstripsofplantsskirtingtheedgeofa concretesea.
Expandthebedsandtheyactuallystarttoblendintotherestof
theyard.Thegardenatleftis a goodexampleofthis.Extra-wide
drivewayplantingsalsoreducethetemptationforfolkstocut
through,orhopover,thebedsontheirwaytoandfromthecar.3 Directtraffic Speakingofcuttingthroughthebeds,if this
is a problemforyou,planthardy,low-growingevergreens,such
asjunipers(Juniperusspp.).They’llmarkthepathallyearwhile
theirpricklytexturesencouragepedestrianstoavoidthem.
Putina stepperortwosofolkswillchoosethatroute.4 Cleartheview Attheendofthedriveway,whereyour
propertycrossesthecitysidewalkandmeetstheroad,safety
is theprimaryconcern.Whenyou’rebackingthecarout,you
needa clearviewofpedestrians,streettrafficandsoon.Most
citieshaveordinanceslimitingtheheightofplants,fencesand
otherlandscapeitems,andhowfartheymustbefromthestreet
orsidewalkforgoodvisibility.Sowhilethetalllamppostinthe
illustrationbelowlooksnice,it’sbettertoinstallsomethinga
bitshorter.Keeptallerplantsclosertothegarageandtaperthe
heightsdownasthebednearsthestreet.SHAPEUP Contrastiswhatkeepsyoureye
movingthrougha garden.Whentherearelots
ofinterestingthingstolookat,youreyekeeps
seekingthenextshape.Ontheotherhand,too
muchcontrastcancreatea confusingjumble.
Seehowtheloosemoundsofcolorfulasters
(Symphyotrichumspp.)contrastwiththesmooth
pumpkinsandeventherectangularbaleofstraw?
Thereareenoughastersandmumsthatthespace
seemsunifiedbutnotsomanythatit’sboring.Shallow
pea gravel
slopeDO DON’TGardenGateMagazine.com | GARDEN GATE 73