Our new drive

9 years ago

We have recently changed our drive but now have a curved path where you can see the concrete underneath. I am thinking that we need to put in a flower border or something round the edge of the path with edging stones to cover it over. Any ideas?

Featured Answer

crowningfashion

9 years ago

A beautiful and relatively cheap way to disguise it and frame the approach to the front door is to use Portuguese laurel. It is like the green box hedging that is commonly seen except that it isn't poisonous to dogs and cats (unlike the green box hedging) and it flowers. It can be bought at various heights and it needs very little maintenance. The stems would match your front door and windows and it would also offer a degree of privacy depending on its height. Here is some info from a website:

The Portuguese Laurel, Prunus lusitanica Angustifolia, makes a beautiful formal hedge. It's dark foliage against maroon coloured stems creates a striking contrast whilst flowers and berries provide interest for wildlife such as birds and bees.

Portuguese Laurel hedging features
◾Foliage: Evergreen, glossy, dark green leaves
◾Features: White flowers and winter berries. Stems are dark pink
◾Growth Rate: Moderate - approx. 30/60cm per year
◾Hedge Height: 1m - 5m hedges
◾Hardiness: Fully hardy - hardier in fact than the popular Cherry Laurel
◾Soil Type: Any - notably good on chalk
◾Position: All but coastal
◾Perfect For: Formal hedging

This was taken from: https://www.hedgesdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Portuguese_Laurel_Hedge_Prunus_Lusitanica.html

An internet search will show other suppliers as well as images. I too have a modern house and I intend to use this to demarcate my garden from the pavement. I think it will look beautiful.
Please post a finished photo. What you done so far looks outstanding!

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Comments (11)

minnie101
9 years ago
Could you try some evergreen ground cover plants? That is the extent of my gardening knowledge so I wouldn't know what plants to use! You should be able to do away with edging stones if you choose the plants carefully (I would think!)
vicky lee
9 years ago
Why not continue the heather that is under the window. It's seems to flourish there.
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PRO
User
9 years ago
None of the above. How did it get there?

The flashing at the top and exposed concrete below leads me to think there may be something not fully admitted here. A fallout with the builder or landscaper? Over what? Not quality of work judging by the overall standard, which from the pix looks very professional and good quality. Price? Who moved it? By which I mean did the contractor say they wanted more money after agreeing a price or have you decided to renege on what you originally agreed? Both are common and I have no sympathy with either. Nor with last minute "just a little bit more but I'm not paying for it" from a client beyond the contracted agreement. Each is equally dishonest. State your case without embellishment.

Without prejudice, the concrete could be chipped out with the flat end of a crowbar, a pickaxe, a lump hammer and cold chisel manually or by any of several power tooled applications. Attempts to disguise rather than remove have to be hardscaped or held in containers because plants will not grow without soil.

I cannot predict your reply. But on the face of it your best, easiest, cheapest, way forward is to talk diplomatically to whoever did the work and come to some sensible agreement which leaves both parties with some semblence of credibility.

The lawn needs sorting out too.
alant1000
9 years ago
^ what makes you think there has been some kind of horrible dispute resulting from a dishonest or underhand client? Talk about paranoid!

To me it simply looks like the level of the drive is higher than the grassed area due to the stone work needing to be level with the house and porch pillar. It looks like it can be fairly easily rectified by levelling out the garden area and laying a new lawn, or low level shrubbery as outlined above, provided the roots have room to spread.
fscrag
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for all your comments. Alant. You are right. We needed to raise the area outside the front door to give better access for a wheelchair hence why there is now a drop to the grass. I was advised that we needed the concrete to support it. Currently we are looking at using mini railway sleepers around the path edge then filling with soil and plants hoping they will spread over and hide the concrete. The person who did the work was not a landscape gardener unfortunately. It was a company experienced in laying block paving. There was no dispute.
alant1000
9 years ago
I think it looks nice!

Just bear in mind that if you do add a shrub border the plastic lining will interfere with roots, so you'll either need to make the sleepers raised a but higher to allow enough soil, or make the border fairly wide and plant as near to the grassed area as possible.

Personally I'd just stick with adding more topsoil and new lawn.
Trisha Riley
9 years ago
Some shrubs and a good few inches of bark mulch and concrete hidden.. Easy maintenance free and just need to top up bark every now and again. Drive looks lovely and hope it's made easier the wheelchair getting into the house.
PRO
Freeland Horticulture Ltd
7 years ago
A border with maybe some wildflowers would look nice along with low maintenance?
fscrag
Original Author
7 years ago
This is what I ended up doing. Looking a little sad as end of summer but I was pleased with the result.
PRO
Brackley Landscape Services
7 years ago
That looks great and the colours work well with the house!

Our new drive

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