Curb appeal is often overlooked, but that doesn’t make it any less important. In fact, your curb and your driveway are some of the first features of your home that guests, neighbors, and passersby see. It’s true that your driveway serves a practical purpose, but it also presents a great opportunity to showcase your style and extend your personality to the outdoors.
Not to mention the monetary value that a well-designed driveway can add to your home. Turn yours into a statement with these driveway landscaping ideas to boost curb appeal and make coming home after a long day just so much better.
1. Stone or Brick Edging
Stone or brick edging is a simple yet powerful way to create clear lines that make your driveway look neat and intentional while preventing the surrounding materials from spilling onto the surface. Regardless of how beautiful your driveway is, loose soil, mulch, and gravel can kill the vibe if it’s slowly taking over the sides. Stone and brick can also complement your home’s exterior style.
Classic red brick gives it a timeless elegance, while sleek gray stones are a better choice for a modern touch. The best part? It works well with any shape of driveway, from straight to curved to circular. You can take stone or brick edging on as a DIY project because it’s easy to install. Pair it with some beautiful flower beds or simple low shrubs for a cohesive look.
2. Hedges
Hedges combine beauty with function because they act as natural walls that can frame your driveway and provide privacy, structure, and year-round greenery. It also blocks winds and reduces noise from the street. You can choose the hedges based on your desired look, but your choices include neatly trimmed boxwoods or flowering varieties like viburnum and hibiscus.
Manicured hedges give a formal, polished appearance to your driveway, while the flowering varieties create a cottage-like style that feels more relaxed. If your driveway is a bit narrow, go for a compact variety and prune it regularly to keep it tidy. Pair your natural borders with pathway lighting or seasonal flowers.
3. Brick or Concrete Pavers
If you’re looking for driveway landscaping ideas to boost curb appeal, it may be time to replace that plain asphalt or gravel driveway with pavers. Both brick and concrete pavers instantly upgrade your home’s exterior, while offering a durable and practical solution that can withstand heavy traffic.
Permeable paver systems improve drainage, which prevents puddles and erosion. And if your driveway starts cracking, which is unlikely, it’s easy to replace the problem pavers.
Not to mention the aesthetic benefits that come with pavers. You’ve got endless design possibilities with different shapes, colors, and patterns to choose from. Think traditional herringbone, modern geometric layouts, or just a simple bordered design with two paver colors.
4. Flower Beds
If you’re looking for something that softens the hard surfaces of your driveway and adds a pop of color, flower beds are the answer. Flower beds that are coordinated with your home’s exterior palette and framed with stone, brick, or metal edging gives your curb a neat, cohesive look that grabs attention.
Design them with rows of bright seasonal flowers, low-maintenance perennials, or timeless shrubs. Layer them by height with the taller blooms at the back to add depth and to give each plant its space to shine. The beauty of flower beds is that if you choose the right blooms, you’ll have a year-round focal point.
Tulips and daffodils will bloom in spring, sunflowers and marigolds will come around in summer, and hardy mums and pansies will add beauty in the cold months.
5. Focal Point Feature
You can actually make your driveway feel like a journey rather than a functional path if you give it that something special that gives the eye a destination. Something dramatic and sophisticated. This could be a small fountain, a sculpture, a birdbath, or just a large planter with beautiful seasonal arrangements. It doesn’t have to be over the top because you can scale it to the size of your space.
Smaller driveways look fantastic with a large pot of greenery, while larger driveways need something bigger, like a garden bed or tiered fountain. To enhance and highlight your focal point, give it some dedicated lighting accents.
6. Lighting Accents
Not only are lighting accents driveway landscaping ideas to boost curb appeal, but they also combine safety with style. They prevent trips and missteps, deter unwanted visitors, and safely guide guests to your home after dark. Line some pathway lights along the edges of your driveway to create a welcoming glow, or uplight your trees and other exterior features for a more dramatic and luxurious look. For a minimalistic approach, use LED strip lights or sleek bollard lights, but don’t overdo it.
The key is to space them well to create elegance instead of overwhelm. Solar lights are budget-friendly and eco-conscious without the hassle of cables and wires, but low-voltage wired systems do shine brighter for longer.
7. Arched Entryway
With an arched entryway framing the start of your driveway, you’re making it an experience and not just an entrance. Whether it’s made from wrought iron, wood, or stone, a beautiful arch adds a sense of grandeur and welcome to your home’s entrance.
Plus, it provides a subtle boundary marker between your private property and public space. Add a natural and romantic touch with climbing plants like ivy, wisteria, and roses, and round it off with integrated string lights or lanterns on either side. If your style is more modern, just a simple wooden arch will do, while a more contemporary home calls for a sleek metal arch.
8. Retaining walls
Retaining walls are especially great if your driveway is built on a slope or uneven terrain. Even in flat driveways, they can create defined areas and enhance your curb appeal by adding structure and symmetry. They provide support while offering a great opportunity to showcase your personal style. Whether it’s made from stone, brick, concrete, or timber, retaining walls help manage soil and prevent erosion.
And if you play your cards right, they can be striking focal points. Tiered retaining walls add dimension, while built-in planters, cascading flowers, and climbing vines can soften the entire look.
9. Tall Narrow Trees
There’s something about tall, narrow trees like Italian cypress, arborvitae, and columnar oaks that add a bold and elegant appeal to a driveway. They grow vertically instead of horizontally, which adds height and makes them ideal for smaller spaces.
Plant them in rows to create an almost regal entrance that looks like those at entrances of the estates in classic European movies. Tall, narrow trees provide privacy without blocking too much light. If you pair them with low-growing shrubs, ground cover, or gravel, they create a relatively low-maintenance focal corridor that leads up to your home.
10. Ground Cover
Ground cover plants are often overlooked because they don’t add vertical appeal, but they can make a huge difference in driveway landscaping. Instead of surrounding your driveway with bare soil or plain mulch, opt for low-growing plants like creeping thyme, ajuga, and sedum. Use them to fill up the awkward gaps between pavers and along borders to reduce maintenance and create a softer look.
Most varieties are drought-resistant, so they can thrive with minimal water, and they can prevent erosion, suppress weeds, and reduce heat absorption from hard surfaces. If you choose a flowering ground cover, you can add a splash of color to the list of benefits.
Jamie is the founder of The Backyard Pros. When he was 15 years old he started working at a garden centre helping people buy plants, gardening products, and lawn care products. He has real estate experience and he is a home owner. Jamie loves backyard projects, refinishing furniture, and enjoys sharing his knowledge online.