You can help offset storm water runoff by planting “filter strips” along the edges of your driveway. Filter strips are areas of grass or plants that trap storm water pollutants, preventing them from reaching the sewer system. You can choose any combination of plant material to suit your landscaping, but native plants that have evolved in your local climate often require little to no maintenance and promote biodiversity by playing their natural role in your local ecosystem.

Create a retaining wall from pavers, railroad ties or boulders. Or use soil to create a berm, a mound of soil or sand that edges a driveway or roadway to prevent soil erosion and runoff. Plant your elevated bed with all-season ornamental grasses such as fakahatchee grass or Mexican feather in the South and blue fescue or feather reed in the North. Colorful trailing vines such as sweet potato vine will add vertical definition.

Hardscaping such as brick, stone or gravel can also help define your driveway and link the paved surface with your home’s architecture. For example, a concrete driveway bordered in flagstone would tie in well with a Craftsman-era home with flagstone columns. Similarly, a Georgian brick home would be complemented by a stone or concrete driveway lined with coordinating brick pavers. A thin strip of pea pebbles, Mexican beach pebble or marble chips can help soften the transition from hard surface to nearby plant beds.

To add interest and color, consider a border of annuals and perennials. Many perennials bloom for just a few weeks each year, but annuals can provide colorful blooms for months. You’ll find a wide range of options at The Home Depot. For helpful hints on creating a new flower bed, check out our step-by-step guide.

Depending on the season and hardiness zone, there are a variety of ideal combinations:

• Snapdragons in various colors provide a riotous backdrop to impatiens or wax begonias planted closely along a driveway.
• For a more formal look, surround long beds of African marigolds, geranium and salvia with a low border of jasmine minima, mondo grass and artillery fern.
• Looking to keep things simple? Pastel pentas are a lovely complement to a low row of hardy ‘Green Island’ ficus.

If you want to wow your guests, try punctuating your landscape by planting shrubs or column- or cone-shaped trees such as podocarpus, holly or eugenia on either side of the driveway. The plants will help delineate the driveway entrance while welcoming guests to your home. Behind the scenes they will also help trap runoff, and the vertical nature of the trees helps draw the eye up to the roofline and around to the rest of your landscape, creating a harmonious facade.