Many homes nowadays have a beautifully paved driveway in order to make room for their cars, but that doesn’t mean that you have to forego having a garden altogether. You can still have a pop of colour in your driveway (you can even have some coloured concrete to complement it) and some easily maintained shrubs to bring some life into the sea of concrete. But if you’re not that green-fingered you may be wondering which plants work well and how much maintenance they need. So, we’ve made a few suggestions to help.
Plants that thrive in gravel
- Acaena Microphylla
These tiny little buds take root in gravel and create a low matt of coppery burr alongside its evergreen foliage. They are sun loving and don’t even mind been tread on, if the children run haphazardly from the car.
- Ophiopogon Planiscapud ‘Nigrescens’ – also known as Black Mondo grass
This gorgeous black-leafed plant thrives in gravel. It even manages to grow beneath it and pop out shoots through the gravel. If you’ve got some pave cut slabs in your garden, this plant will look really well against it.
- Canna x Hybrida
They look like a large, tropical flower, coming alive in fiery reds, yellows and oranges but they do very well in the temperate climate of Melbourne. It’s a much hardier plant than it looks and you can sow it anytime of year, but it will need plenty of soil and though they are good in drought they are best when well watered.
- Trachelospermum Jasminoides ‘Tricolor’
If you’re worried about the sun not reaching all parts of the driveway, this climber is a good little number that still gives good colour. Instead of blooms, it has pretty pink, green and cream leaves that cope wonderfully in the shade. They can also be trimmed into a nice low hedge over the driveway.
Keep your paving in tip top condition
Now you’ve got some ideas on brightening up your driveway. If you need further advice on keeping your driveway smart, simply get in touch today.
