Front Garden - Extra Parking and Facelift

The client wanted to extend their tarmac front drive to provide an extra parking space. They had added  a row of paving slabs some time ago, as a pathway,  but visiting family still had to park behind a car on the drive, and often it meant swapping them round depending on who wanted out first. A double width drive was therefore desired, but now to make it look interesting?

THE BRIEF

• Double width driveway
• Kerb appeal
• Planting to provide some winter structure but plenty of summer colour

THE SOLUTION

• Use block paving, to add texture rather than more tarmac. I also designed in a circle shape to add further interest. (No point doing this if a car is always parked on top of it, but this would also be the pathway to the front door.)
• Simplify the lawn shape to make it easy to mow but also provide good strong shapes. The curves would echo the circle in the drive.
• Choose sun loving plants to provide a WOW in summer, but with structure elements for the winter too.

Before photos at the end.

The new extended part of the driveway, for occasional use. Looks smart and most of the time is a pathway to the front door. The installer, used a darker pointing mix in the circle to make it more prominent.

In the front border Physocarpus will provide height as well as colour contrast

Ostespenums will bake in the sun and provide excellent ground cover all year,
and flower for many weeks in the growing season.

Salvia April Night. Also very happy baking the sunny border providing upright spikes of purple.
If cut back mid summer, they will flower again by September and into October

Geranium Sanguineum Alba will spread and give good ground cover. They are planted with upright Verbena Lollipop and also purple leaved sage, which gives a nice foliage contrast, is evergreen, and also excellent ground cover 

A curve of Box plants will grow into a neat evergreen hedge for winter structure surrounding
an Amelanchier Shrub which gives 3 seasons of interest. The shrub will grow to  around
3-4 mtres and is underplanted with several Erysimum Bowles Mauve

A little more shade nearer the house, and fabulous dark stems of
Hydrangea Zorro. Beautiful even in bud, with flowers to follow which will also give winter interest

Artemisia Powis Castle will enjoy the heat of the sunny border, and ground cover from
Sempervivums add a further texture

The cat crept in! This border will very soon fill out and give a long season of interest with Roses, Spirea, Sedum,
Rudbekia, Penstemon, Thyme, Stipa Tenuissima grasses, and Geraniums.

BEFORE....

Single width parking, and a not very inspiring lawn / borders

The pathway had been added to several times with mix of materials