Creating borders for hedging/plants on driveway

[PandaBear30]

Hi,

My driveway is entirely block paved. Terraced house but fairly wide with room for two cars although we only have one. I’d like to put some hedging or plants along the edges. Is it possible to dig out the edges of the driveway to do this without having to dig up the whole drive and start from scratch? It was laid by the previous owners about 6/7 years ago and is still in great condition. I just want a bit of green at the front, I think it looks so much more inviting than an expanse of brick.
Any advice greatly appreciated.

Yes but you’ll need someone to edge it properly and underneath will be compacted hardcore so that will need digging out and replacing with good quality soil. I’d say it’s a professional job. That or go for big containers.

Hedging plants would need the hardcore taken out as they will need plenty of space for roots, but you could go for plants that need less root space - the kind of things you see growing in cracks in paving. This article has some ideas www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jul/26/gardens-plants-cracks-paths

I think I’d add pots around the edges instead of removing any of the paving.

Thanks for the replies. Good to know it’s doable. Also been having a look at made to measure planters, which might be a cheaper option.

In our old house we had a concrete yard and instead of digging it up we put in very large planters to create beds down the sides.
It was great and looked amazing especially with plants that spilled down the sides.

Made to measure planters will be cheaper but you will need to water any planting in them so make sure that’s feasible.

We added greenery to our driveway by digging some of it up. I can't remember the cost but it wasn't that massive - maybe a few hundered? I'd probably prefer to do it that way as there will be less maintenance required and you'll be able to plant something bigger in the actual soil rather than a planter.