Creating a driveway: 10 tips for success

1 Before you start creating a driveway, make sure you've got permission for Off Street Parking, otherwise you won't be allowed to use your driveway, no matter how fabulous it is. And remember to make sure that the paving meets government standards for permeable paving, otherwise you might be forced to take it up and do it again.

2 Treat the front driveway as a sort of country yard. Make it a pleasant space for people, and not just a surface on which you can put a car.

3 Most people won't spend a lot of time in their front garden, so use large clumps of colour that create a rapid impression. Remember to get some plants that will look pretty in winter - trees with pretty bark, shrubs with winter berries and a smattering of evergreens - such as holly.

4 You can plant on the driveway itself. Plants will fit neatly between the tracks where the car wheels run. Or you can grow them on a special plastic mat or in specially recessed concrete blocks. This will give the driveway a softer, less urban, appearance.

5 A bit of know-how about foundations and block thickness will go a long way. If you're going to get block paving, make sure it's on a proper foundation. If the foundation is too soft, the blocks will crack under the weight of vehicles. For more fragile materials - such as York stone, you'll probably need to have a concrete base of around 150mm thick laid. Also make sure that you've got the right thickness of block. Most manufacturers specify a 40mm thick block for driveways.

6For gravel driveways, make sure that you've got gravel with sharp edges which is around 6mm in diameter - about the size of pea. This gravel will clump together when compressed by a car tyre. Smooth gravel or larger chunks will be more likely to pushed aside by the pressure of a tyre, resulting in pits and troughs in the gravel surface. Make sure that the stone you use fits in the with appearance of the local area.

7 Gravel paths will need to be redressed (ie extra gravel will have to be added) every few years. To avoid gravel being lost too quickly, any gravel driveway should have a lip at the edge, to catch stray stones.

8 For instant impact, you can buy plants in containers to stand on your driveway. Shrubs such as box (buxus) or yew (taxus) can be purchased, clipped into special shapes - cubes, cones, spirals - they can look fabulous.

9 Grow some taller plants,  preferably over one metre in height.. These will soften the appearance of the walls and fences around your driveway. Also get at least one tree - it can be a small ornamental tree - to add some interest to the front garden.

10) Lighting - have diffused lighting, which throws light on the bushes and trees at about head height. Avoid ‘deck lights' which are buillt into the ground: these don't illuminate anything, but just dazzle people who look straight at them. Install security lights, which light up if anything moves in your driveway.

For more expert advice visit www.drivewayexpert.co.uk and www.diydoctor.org.uk (which has useful tips on driveway maintenance.