Fight the slab
So many people turn their front gardens into ugly concrete car parks – but there are far kinder ways to build a drive
FRONT gardens are the best way to make a stunning first impression to visitors, to welcome you home after a hard day’s work or as the first thing you see as you step outside your home in the morning.
Unfortunately, across the country, record numbers are being lost to a tidal wave of slabs and concrete.
The fact is that, as a lowmaintenance alternative, many people opt for a paved driveway out of convenience, or to provide an off-road space for their car.
There are currently more than 38 million licensed vehicles on the UK’s roads. Fifty years ago, there were only 11 million. That’s where our front gardens have gone.
But, while a paved-over front garden may be convenient when we have a busy lifestyle and little time to spare, the benefits of a real garden are tremendous. Our mental health, community and natural environment are all positively affected.
SLAB SOLUTIONS
WHAT if I told you that you don’t have to compromise? That you can have both a functional driveway while keeping the beauty and the benefits of a flourishing front garden.
It may seem tricky to keep space for your car and maintain lawn space and greenery but some tips to switch up your design mean you get the best of both worlds.
Putting in two paving tracks to accommodate your car is one compromise and you can plant hardy, low-growing plants around them.
There are even plants that will tolerate being parked over, as long as the car is moved regularly so they get some light.
Creeping jenny is a good pick because it is tough enough to withstand occasionally being run over. It is low growing and likes a sunny or part-shaded spot, so just ensure there is a planting pocket with soil to suit it.
Another solution is concrete block paving with spaces in it (Pavestone makes a product called GrassPark which is ideal).
It provides a robust hard-standing suitable for cars and vans to be parked on, while also maintaining a permeable surface for grass or plants.
A permeable paving option like this, or gravel or brick pavers, enables water to drain through the surface and reduces the chance of flooding.
PERFECT PLANTS
WHILE many people will opt for a paved front garden due to wanting a low-maintenance option, there are in fact many plants that are tough, don’t demand a lot of you and will thrive, despite little attention.
If you’ve got a sheltered spot somewhere that’s overly shaded and you can’t find anything that will fit, try variegated Japanese laurel which is an evergreen, so it will grace your garden with colour all year round with its glossy green leaves speckled with cream and yellow.
Or for some fiery, vibrant foliage, Heuchera (coral bells) provide colour almost all year round with wavyedged leaves that can be found in green, bronze, purple or chocolate shades. Neither needs a lot of love to thrive.
For dull corners, plant up perennials like hardy Geranium
‘Rozanne’ for some delightful purple-blue tones, alongside Chinese anemone with white-pink delicate looking flowers that bloom in summer.
PRIVACY AND SCREENING
MAKE the most of all your available space, including bare fences and walls, by planting a climber.
Not only do shrubs and plants ts like honeysuckle, wisteria and roses look striking and add a softness to your home, but they y also smell fantastic.
Climbers and screening in your front garden act as privacy and a shield to any onlookers in front of your home.
They can also deter would-be burglars, especially if you opt for thorny varieties under your windows like Pyracantha rogersiana (yellow Asian firethorn) ‘Flava’.
This evergreen shrub blooms clusters of cream flowers followed by an abundance of yellow berries that make it pretty and practical as a deterrent to any home space invaders.
You can even use screening to hide wheelie bins by creating a camouflaged corner for them to sit in that’s tucked away behind a trellis adorned with a climber like Passiflora (passion flower) that will bloom with
very exotic looking flowers to prettily conceal your bins.
GARDEN GUESTS
ASIDE from the human benefits, front gardens are also important to our natural environment. Hedgehog, bat, and butterfly populations are all struggling, and the loss of front garden space is one of the key factors.
The good news is that we can all do our bit to help local wildlife by having a planted front garden. So keeping a green front garden isn’t just a pleasure, it’s a comm community service that benefits all liv living creatures. By planting shrubs, trees and hedges it will provide more shelter for nesting birds and insects, and t they will also be benefit from the fruit produced, like the be berries of the Pyracanth Pyracantha.
It’s not just back gardens that are for wildlife, so feel free to add a bat box or bird box to your front garden so all of your spaces are accessible and attractive to wildlife.
Before paving over your driveway, think about why you are doing it and if you can strike a balance between functionality and keeping some greenery in your garden.
You will benefit by being surrounded by nature and plants more, and the local wildlife will appreciate it too.