The Pest-Resistant Plant With Stunning Color That Makes The Perfect Driveway Border

Your lawn is your home's first impression. Before any guests get to see your carefully curated collection of indoor plants, before they make their way to your personalized sanctuary of a backyard, and before they get to witness the seasonal crops you have growing, they come face to face with the landscaping at the front of the home. As a result, if you're wanting to maximize the visual appearance (and curb appeal) of your home's exterior, you won't want to forget about your driveway. Fortunately, bringing life to this spot can be as simple as choosing the right colorful plants for your driveway's border — and this stunning multi-color evergreen can be the perfect place to start if you're looking for a plant that's visual appeal is as effortless as its care routine.

The trademarked Romeo Cleyera (Cleyera japonica 'Variegata') offers an untraditional approach to color in your garden. Rather than sporting beautiful bounties of blooms, it serves as a quieter, elegant splash along your driveway, with color-changing variegated leaves that only look time-consuming to maintain. In actuality, this plant resists pests, heat, and droughts and has few pruning requirements, making it a perfect choice for those in need of a low-maintenance pop of color on their driveway's border.

The first step to growing this hardy plant alongside your driveway is to decide if you have the right growing conditions for it. After all, the last thing you want is to plant Cleyera japonica 'Variegata' for a colorful border just for your plant to fail. Cleyera japonica 'Variegata' will thrive in USDA Hardiness Zones 7 through 10. As far as light goes, this plant can grow in both full and partial sun conditions. As a result, your driveway will need at least four hours of sunlight each day for Cleyera japonica 'Variegata' to do well as a border plant. Otherwise, you may want to consider growing a gorgeous shade garden for your driveway's border instead. This pest-resistant plant needs soil that is well-draining, with deep watering that doesn't leave the roots waterlogged or soggy.

When it comes to driveway plants, one thing you'll want to pay attention to is maintenance. After all, if your driveway is your home's first impression, then you want to ensure it looks its best — with minimal effort on your part. Although this plant doesn't require much pruning for appearance purposes (keep in mind the three D rule of pruning for health, however), it does grow best with deep mulch. On the bright side, mulch can further boost the visual appeal of your driveway's border, and you can even incorporate mulch of different colors for a uniformed appearance that blends seamlessly with the rest of your home's exterior.