Your driveway is one of the first things others notice about your home. Create a feeling of invitation and warmth by giving your driveway a shot of character in surprisingly simple ways.

A basic concrete driveway looks smooth and crisp, but adding stone edging and stone detailing imbues a fresh-poured concrete drive with a charming new feel at only a few dollars extra per square foot. Or, if you’re installing new concrete, consider throwing some curves or color into the new design for an asymmetrical aesthetic.

By removing a few feet of sod from the side of your driveway slab and filling it with rocks, mixing large and small for variety, you can create a rock garden that actually softens the lines between your lawn and your drive.

You can think high or low when considering plantings to border the driveway. Trees and bushes will attract attention and add interest, and mixing plant types can bring a breath of color and fragrance to your landscape. A trellis for fast-growing vines can draw the eye up toward your home, adding a green wall that actually creates the illusion of a larger home.

Closer to the ground, edging plants (small, neat, compact plants from two to ten inches tall) can bring a unifying cohesion to your yard and tame the geometric lines of a rectangular concrete driveway. For rapid cover, informal flowing edges and ongoing ease of maintenance, try easily divided perennials like dwarf yellow green hostas (for shaded areas), dwarf lady’s mantle (some shade) and rock cress (sunny areas). Tiny hedges of clipped boxwood or lavender will fill out mulch borders in a more precise and formal way.