When it comes to growing plants for specific environments it always makes sense to take a look and make a note of what grows in other people’s gardens, grows wild in hedgerows, sand dunes or in and around pebbly beaches. There are many plants that can be grown in a garden close to the particular sea, despite the salt-laden winds, through small alpines and grasses to large trees plus everything in between.

Strong winds that beat the shores can cause stunted growth, defoliation and leaf burn, but some vegetation have specifically adapted in order to tolerate these difficult growing conditions.

I grew up in Hove, just outside of Brighton, and I would spend hours either in the countryside or on the beach.

Living so close to the sea provides an openness plus vastness that is difficult to describe. So many people go and sit on the beach, looking out across the waves, to clear the mind and to destress.

We know that plant life and gardens can positively help our physical plus mental wellbeing, so marrying up the two will frequently result in a calmness and freshness.

Yet, new gardeners to coastal extremes, salt-laden winds, strong winds plus more can become a little overwhelmed and find it difficult to know where to start.

Obviously, the further away from the sea that your garden sits the less extremes it will have to face, but whether close or further away it makes sense to create wind shelters, or even wind breaks, which in turn will slow down plus filter the winds, catch the salt and help create micro-climates, but these shelter belts need to be robust.

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Best plants for landscapes by the particular sea

Best native coastal hedges

The best native coastal hedges are suitable to seaside conditions, cope very well in windy areas and are tolerant of sea air.

Good choices are usually therefore the dog rose, elder, ocean buckthorn, crazy privet, field maple, alder, hawthorn and blackthorn, which are also fantastic with regard to wildlife.

Best evergreen hedges

• Griselinia littoralis
• Elaeagnus x ebbingei
• Escallonia rubra macrantha
• Cupressocyparis leylandii

Best hedges with colourful plants

• Fuchsia magellanica
• Rosa rugosa ‘Rubra’
• Philadelphus ‘Belle Etoile’
• Berberis darwinii
• Berberis x stenophylla
• Cotoneaster franchetii
• Ribes sanguineum ‘King Edward VII’
• Forsythia x intermedia ‘Lynwood Gold’ Euonymus europaeus

Best for borders

Look at exactly what grows in the wild plus introduce plants such as:

• Armeria maritima (sea thrift)
• Eryngium giganteum ‘Silver Ghost’ (sea holly)
• Eryngium variifolium (compact sea holly)
• Silene uniflora (sea campion)
• Crambe maritima (sea kale)
• Crambe cordifolia (greater sea kale)
• Centranthus ruber (red valerian)
• Echium vulgare (viper’s bugloss)
• Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary)
• Erigeron glaucus ‘Sea Breeze’ (fleabane)
• Limonium platyphyllum (broad-leaved statice)
• Verbascum ‘Gainsborough’ (mullein)

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Ornamental grasses

• Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’ (blue fescue)
• Hordeum jubatum (foxtail barley)
• Pennisetum alopecuroides (Chinese fountain grass)
• Stipa tenuissima (Mexican feathergrass)

Perfect for non-stop blossoms

• Oenothera biennis (evening primrose)
• Hesperis matronalis (sweet rocket)
• Leucanthemum vulgare (ox-eye daisy)
• Calendula officinalis (pot marigold)
• Hemerocallis ‘Olive Bailey Langdon’ (daylily)
• Buddleja davidii ‘Black Knight’ (butterfly bush)
• Lonicera japonica ‘Hall’s Prolific’ (honeysuckle)
• Penstemon ‘White Bedder’(beard tongue)
• Hylotelephium ‘Matrona’ (stonecrop, syn sedum)
• Lonicera fragrantissima (winter honeysuckle)
• Astrantia ‘Roma’ (masterwort)
• Hebe ‘Pascal’ (shrubby veronica)

The particular soil in coastal gardens can often be free-draining and have low fertility, frequently composed of stone, shell and sand. Enrich the soil by adding homemade garden compost, farmyard manure plus washed seaweed.

Always wash seaweed before adding to the particular soil like the additional salt may halt plant growth.

However, many beautiful coastal plant life don’t require high male fertility.

Many herbs and Mediterranean plants thrive in poor soils.

Also, due to the seaside climatic conditions, plants tend to grow more compact compared to those grown in-land.

Niches within the driftwood are perfect spots regarding growing alpine and low-growing herbaceous perennials. Why not give a ‘driftwood stumpery’ the go?

Furthermore, by using large pebbles in a decorative way and as a mulch, you can prevent weeds from developing and they will assist tie the garden to the coastline.

It’s important to note that you should never remove big pebbles from your beach; always purchase all of them from backyard centres or builder merchants.

Smaller ornamental stones plus gravel can be used around plant life as the mulch in order to prevent soils from drying out too quickly, to cover the particular tops of pots and containers plus to create a dry stream feature.