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Seaside
Many people have it in their minds that you can not have a nice garden if you live by the sea as the wind is strong and the sea salt damages everything, well that is not really true. As with every garden you have to make the most of what you have got. Don’t expect miracles it will not happen over night but with a lot of forward planning and patience the rewards will be there.
Firstly go to your local garden centre and find out what plants they would recommend to be hardy against the wind. This might surprise you as there is quite a lot of choice. You first need to build up a barrier to protect smaller plants that will come later. Fir trees are really not an option but Olearia ( Daisy bush ) grows with little or no problem. This plant can grow up to eight feet tall and has a wide spread so this should be thought of as your first line of defence. Once established you can start to look at shrubs. At this stage you should still be looking at seaside plant but they do not have to be quite so hardy. Fuchsia can come behind the Olearia as this grows up to six feet in height and spreads two to four feet wide. This does lose its leaves in winter but from April on it brings the beauty back to the garden.
Other plants that can be used as first line of defence are:
- Blackthorn ( Prunus spinosa ) this is evergreen and has white flowers in March.
- Euonymus japonicus this is evergreen and has white flowers in July.
- Golden elder ( Sumbucus nigra ‘ Aurea ‘ ) the leaves on this change from golden through to green and it gives white flowers in June. This will lose it’s leaves.
- Gorse (Ulex europaeus ) this has quite sharp spikes, it is evergreen and has flowers in Yellow in March and if you are lucky also in November.
- Sea buckthorn ( Hippophae rhamnoides ) the leaves are silver but not evergreen. This has very small yellow flowers in April.
- Tamarisk ( tamatix pentandra,T. gallica ) this has beautiful feathery leaves and pink flowers but is not evergreen.
- Escallonia macrantha is great for hedging and forming a protective barrier against the harsh wind. It is semi evergreen and has pink or red flowers in July.
- Arbutus unedo ( strawberry tree ) this grows up to 12 ft tall and produces white and pink flowers from October to December.
- Choisya ternata growing to about six feet has flowers of white in April to May with a strong scent.
- Griselinia littoralis another plant ideal for hedging as it grows up to 25 ft tall and has glossy green leaves.
If you have a large garden area it is a good idea to break it up into sections and try different things. A good idea is to go for a walk on the sand dunes and see what plants are growing there. Viola grows wild and you can get different colours from garden centre’s and you will find that they will seed themselves and grow again for many years to come. Alyssum is a small white flowered plant that loves the sandy soil, this plant spreads like weed but it is very attractive and will seed its self and grow on for many years. Nasturtium ( Tropaeolum ) comes in a few different shades from yellow to orange to red and this is a bedding and climbing plant which will grow almost any where. This spreads over walls and if trailed will climb up trellis on walls. Again this plant will self seed and needs little attention.
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