Driveway landscaping ideas to enhance your home’s exterior

Ricky D'Alesio

Senior Designer

Maximise your home’s curb appeal with expert driveway landscaping tips

Once you’ve settled on the look of your home, it’s time to turn your attention to the design of the area around your driveway and the surrounding landscape. First impressions count, and as your front landscaping, garden path and driveway entrance is one of the first things guests and passersby see, you’ll want to landscape these areas with care for instant curb appeal. 

Read on to discover the six steps to designing a front yard that offers a positive first impression and beautiful entrance to your home.

Consider your needs and driveway entrance  

The first thing to ask yourself: What do you want to achieve with your driveway landscaping project? If you’d like privacy, consider a gate and fencing or a plant-based boundary. Landscaping with a hedge can provide both privacy and security, but will require regular maintenance to keep it looking its best, while fencing offers more security and is ideal if you have children or pets that need to be contained.

When planning your driveway design, also consider its layout. Popular driveway layouts include straight, curved, and even circular driveways, which can create a grand entrance. Each layout offers various benefits, so choose one that best suits your home’s architecture and the available space.

Ensure it suits your lifestyle

Garden enthusiasts

A lush and leafy front garden creates a great first impression, but before you commit, consider whether you really want to spend your weekends tending to greenery. A well-maintained garden can significantly enhance your driveway landscaping, but it requires consistent effort. Depending on your plants, water deeply and early in the morning before it gets hot, mow weekly, and fertilise in early spring, early summer and winter, and mid to late autumn.

If you’re prepared to put in the time, nothing compares with a lush front lawn filled with a mix of plants and trees that complement your driveway design. Enhance your front lawn with a shrub border. Edging plants such as aranda, grey box or sweet mist create a pleasing sense of a contrast beside grass. A shrub border can also be used to soften the look of a driveway. Finish off your border with decorative mulch such as wood chips or pebbles for a neat and tailored look (and to reduce water wastage). Adding a water feature or a small fountain near the driveway can also create a peaceful entry to your home. 

Low-maintenance solutions 

If you’d prefer a driveway landscaping with less maintenance, consider a gravel driveway or concrete driveway paired with a simple landscape design. Installing a rock garden border (you could include low-maintenance succulents or hardy plants like shrubs for a touch of green), or a pebbled front garden or border – they will look great year-round and are easy to maintain. Or, if you love the look of a lush green lawn but don’t want the upkeep that usually comes with it, consider a quality artificial turf solution. Child and pet friendly, artificial grass is designed for harsh Australian conditions and will save you time and money. Another option is ground cover plants such as creeping thyme or ornamental grasses which can also be used to reduce maintenance by covering bare soil and adding texture to your driveway landscape.

Choose a look that complements your home’s style

Your curb appeal landscaping that you select should complement your home’s style and colour palette. Accent a contemporary home with lots of angular lines, for example, with succulents or spiky-leafed native plants. For a traditional or Hamptons-style exterior, consider a landscape design with softer elements such as flowering plants like magnolia, star jasmine and wisteria. Whatever landscaping style you opt for, take a tip from Carlisle’s landscape designer and include at least one feature plant or tree within the design to create a focal point.

Choose plant sizes that are relative to the size of your home, with taller plants giving your front garden an established look. Ideally, you’ll want a mix of tall, medium and small trees in your landscape design to create visual interest, with taller plants placed between windows so they won’t block your view. Climbing plants along fences can also soften the hardscaping elements like concrete pavers and pathways.

Also consider the colours on your facade when choosing plants and flowers for your landscaping – seek out cooler plant colours for a cool-coloured exterior and deeper plant colours for a warm or brightly coloured facade.

And remember, less is generally more when it comes to your driveway landscape. In general, mass planting of a few plants looks more lush and impactful than mixing a little bit of everything. Symmetry can also be very effective; consider balancing your front yard landscaping with matching plants or trees on either side of your front door.  

Explore our huge range of facades and landscaping designs for garden and driveway inspiration.

Choose plants to suit the location

To encourage healthy growth, make sure you choose plants that are well suited to your home’s location and that you plant it in the right spots. Read the plant label or ask the nursery how big the plant is expected to grow, how much space it will need once fully grown, and its soil, light, watering and shade requirements. Native plants have plenty of practical benefits and are often a good choice as they are adapted to our local climate and require less maintenance. Hardy plants that can withstand varying weather conditions are also ideal for lining driveways.  

Select the right driveway fence and gate 

Choosing the right driveway and fence can enhance both the security and visual appeal of your home. In general, the taller and more solid the fence, the more security it will provide. There are many fence and driveway gate styles to choose from including modern steel designs to classic wooden and mod-wood styles. For added security, consider an automatic driveway gate that can be controlled remotely.

An open steel fence is the perfect complement to a contemporary home. It offers privacy and security, while allowing light and views into your garden. For an upmarket look, consider a combination of render, brick and steel. Alternatively, soften the look by combining render with timber slats.

A picket fence is a perennial favourite that works a treat with traditional and Hamptons-style. White isn’t your only option; for a modern edge, consider painting a picket fence in charcoal.

For superior privacy and security, consider a stone fence or retaining wall to the front of your home. These generally cost more than other types of front fences, but add a sense of luxury to your home, while providing the ultimate peace of mind. A stone-veneer fence is a budget-friendly alternative, giving you the look of the natural material for a fraction of the cost. 

Take a look at our online gallery for design ideas for your front outdoor space including outdoor lighting. 

Accessorise your home’s front garden with the right features

Adding the right accessories to your home’s driveway and front landscaping can have a huge impact on the final outcome. Consider incorporating these elements into your final driveway landscaping design: 

Landscape lighting

Properly placed landscape lighting can transform the look and feel of your driveway and front yard. Adding solar-powered lights along your driveway and front path creates a warm welcome at night and helps guests find their way to your front door. Adding lighting to feature trees, water features or your front porch is also essential for aesthetics, but also for security. Using smart lighting also allows you to remotely control how lit up your home is at night - especially important when returning to your home after sunset, and while you're away. 

Potted plants

Potted plants are a versatile way to add greenery and colour to your landscape. They can be placed on either side of your driveway, near the front door or even on your porch to create a neat and tidy finish. Consider using a mix of plant types for year-round colour and winter interest. These types of plants also require less watering and leave a lasting impression on the feel of your home. 

Letterbox and house numbers

An eye-catching letterbox and some beautiful house numbers provide the perfect finishing touches to your facade. Choose styles that compliment your Carlisle home design and that are easy to read both during the day and at night. 

Customise the exterior of your home at Spectra

When it comes to creating the perfect exterior for your new Carlisle home, our Spectra Showroom is your go-to destination. At Spectra, you can explore a vast array of innovative materials and finishes to personalise every aspect of your home’s exterior, including your facade and window materials and colours along with your garage door and roof materials and colours. 

Cutting-edge digital technologies enhance the experience further. Throughout the showroom, Spectra Digital Kiosks, complete with integrated information panels and videos, offer inspiration on more than 85 topics. You can interact with these digital screens and use the supplied iPads to create individual online profiles where you can save your favourite images and products, enabling a smoother and more integrated selection process.

Our expert design consultants at Spectra are there to guide you through every step of the process, ensuring that your selections reflect your vision for your new home. 

At Spectra, you’re not just picking out products for your new home but drawing inspiration from the latest trends and innovations, ensuring your home reflects your personal style and stands out in your neighbourhood. 

Would you like to come for a browse through Carlisle’s award-winning Spectra Showroom? 

The team would love to welcome you. You can visit the showroom without an appointment on Sunday between 10am and 4pm. The Spectra Showroom is located at 631 Springvale Road, Mulgrave 3170, Victoria.