The seashell driveway is in! And oh what a difference. Here’s a photo taken last summer of our {then shared} driveway.
To make a long story short we shared a driveway with the small business that was next door to us. Our parking spaces were in the barn. Their FOUR parking spaces were the patches of asphalt in front of our house and the sides of theirs.
It was not an ideal setup to say the least.
But yada yada yada, now both places are ours and instead of the asphalt jungle that was once out front there are a gazillion seashells, cobblestones and green spaces.
It’s pretty magical.
Most of the seashell driveway is quahog shells but there are some larger soft shell clams, scallop and snail shells too.
The shells were bleached {so they don’t smell} before they were delivered and were laid on landscape fabric to prevent weeds.
A long driveway means LOTS of shells!
What a difference a couple of truckloads of shells make. We started this project 7 weeks ago and it’s so nice to be almost done!
Every time I step outside, I feel like I’m at the beach. And for this seaside loving girl, it’s been AWESOME.
It’s just so nice to have all that asphalt gone.
Several of the homes around us have seashell driveways too and while using a snowblower for the first time on seashells this winter will be interesting… We are up to the task.
~Mavis
Jeanine says
Looks SO good! Nice job!
Jill A says
It looks wonderful!!
Nancy Settel says
Oh so beautiful and yep makes you feel like a seaside town for sure. So happy for you that it is over.
Dawn says
It looks beautiful! Isn’t there some kind of landscape glue you can use on the shells to make it easier for the snowblower? I’ve used some on the mulch under a tree in my front yard because I was tired of the neighborhood dogs leaving mulch all over the sidewalk.
Virginia says
Looks great!
Are you planning a hedge on the left side of your driveway (boxwood perhaps)?
Sue S. says
How about peonies!!!
Julie says
I bet driving on that seashell path makes a great ASMR sound. What a great way to arrive home!
Archie says
agree
NCJill says
The brickwork y’all put down really makes it pop! Wonderful job, Mavis & HH!
Julie says
Beautiful!
Sue S. says
WHAT an amazing difference. Job well done at the Butterfield compound. The green grass looks so much better than the asphalt! Come winter, you just have to tell plow guy to go easy on the plowing. I had to do that this past February when we got storm-zilla and the neighbor with the snowblower had a broken snowblower! So my son came by with – get this – the front end loader from his jobsite nearby and plowed me out, and my dead-end, no one else is around in winter, street. About a dozen, newly laid in the fall, rocks were dragged into the road and once all of the ice and snow melted, I just broomed them back into the end of the driveway.
Tracy says
Looks beautiful! Any concerns about the pup’s paws on the razor sharp shell edges?
Margie says
Well done Butterfields! Looks stunning. You really know how to make a place welcoming and cozy. Congrats!
JulieP says
Wow what a difference! The previous parking situation was very odd. It’s worked out very well and looks very neat and organised. Job done! 🙂
Nicole Don says
I’ve never heard of a seashell drive way before! But I love it!
Christa H says
That looks really good! Nice and tidy.
Mallory Lemieux says
Beautiful! I hope the underlayment does it’s job to keep it weed free. What about grass clippings/mulch/etc intrusion? I wonder if landscape glue would help with that (enabling you to blow most things off/out). Polymeric sand between the pavers to keep them from shifting due to water erosion/freeze-thaw cycles.
My suggestion to your hubby would be to assess now the clearance your snow blower has over the shells. No need to actually turn it on. That will give him time to research a local welder who can install shoes to raise it higher if needed. We did this for the blower on our tractor for the gravel drive. Much less expensive than constantly breaking shear pins, or launching a chunk of shell into a window.
Judi Y. says
Wow! It’s so, so pretty!
Tracy says
Wow, what a difference. The new landscaping looks fantastic!