'Willpower & sheer idiocy combine in harmony'
Plants that like to be beside the sea
Gardening with salt-laden winds
and storms
LIVING on the coast can be a blessing and a curse. On one hand, the sea is warmer than the land in winter, so very hard frosts won't be as severe.
On the other, offshore breezes cool in summer, bringing mists. In winter, bitter easterly/north-easterly winds bring snow showers in from the North Sea on the East coast - and the threat of floods.
On the West, you have the constant battering of storms coming in off the Atlantic. All coasts have the dreaded curse of salt.
There's not many plants that relish a saline environment.
Don't fight it - go with it. As a general rule, succulent or small greyish leaves are a decent indicator of salt tolerance. In the following recommendations, I've assumed a free-draining, sandy soil, with an east-facing exposed garden.
All plants are hardy. Check other members of the plant's family - there are hundreds of varieties of aster or heather, for example.
HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS
BEAR'S breeches (Acanthus mollis): glossy, lobed foliage and tall white/purple flower spikes, 1-1.5 metres.
Yarrow (Achillea filipendulina): many varieties, eg Cloth of Gold grows to 1.8m, with large, flattened heads of bright yellow flowers.
Anenome (A. blanda var. rosea) Pink Shades: bronze-tinged lobed leaves, flowers 3cm wide have 9-14 narrow pale pink petals, 0.1-0.5m. A. nemorosa also suitable.
Sicilian chamomile (Anthemis punctata subsp. cupaniana): woody-based, evergreen perennial forming a loose mat to 30cm tall, with finely cut silvery foliage and yellow-centred white daisies.
Italian aster (Aster amellus): King George is a bushy, upright herbaceous perennial to 60cm, with dark green, oval leaves and yellow-centred, violet-blue daisies.
Thrift (Armeria maritima): mat-forming evergreen perennial with dense, needle-like leaves and erect flower stems to 15cm, bearing clusters of cup-shaped pink flowers.
Tussock bellflower (Campanula carpatica): clump-forming perennial to 30cm, with violet-blue or white flowers.
Eryngium, or sea holly; below, Campanula carpatica; Achillea.
Purple Berberis creates a good background for Acanthus mollis, or bear's breeches.
PERENNIAL SHRUBS
Japanese laurel (Aucuba) Golden King: large glossy leaves blotched with gold, dark purple flowers in spring, 1.5-2.5 metres.
Purple Japanese barberry (B. thunbergii f. atropurpurea): rounded, deep reddish-purple leaves which become deep red in autumn; small red-tinged pale yellow flowers followed by glossy red berries, 1-1.5 metres.
Heather (Calluna or Erica species): compact evergreen with red-brown foliage, becoming bright orange red in winter. Flowers purplish-pink, in short erect spikes.
Red-barked dogwood (Cornus spaethii): deciduous, suckering shrub with stems bright red in winter, variegated leaves, flowers cream in flattish clusters, berries white, 2.5-4 metres.
Four-stamen tamarisk (Tamarix tetrandra): lax, deciduous shrub with arching, almost black branches, minute green scale-like leaves and large plumes of light pink flowers in late spring, 2.5-4 metres.
Dogwoods (Cornus), above and below, in their winter glory at RHS Harlow Carr.
ANNUALS & BIENNIALS
False bishop's weed (Ammi majus): fern-like, divided leaves and large, branched umbels of small creamy-white flowers, 0.5-1 metres, pictured right.
Viper's bugloss (Echium vulgare): erect, bristly biennial to 75cm, with lance-shaped, hairy leaves and dense cylindrical spikes of bell-shaped violet-blue flowers in early summer.
Californian poppy (Eschscholzia): annual, dissected, blue-green foliage and single or semi-double flowers, in cream, yellow, orange, pink and red; prolific self seeders.
Rose campion (Lychnis coronaria): biennial, with silvery-grey felted leaves and lax sprays of long-stalked, vivid rose-purple flowers.
Top, Californian poppy; above, Ammi majus.
HOW many gardens do you see that are basically 2D? There may be a tree or shoulder-high shrub in one corner, but the rest - lawn, bedding and edging, are rarely more than a foot high.
Look at any natural ecosystem and there are plants evolved to fit in every niche and height. They don't grow in order of size.
People are OK with using tall plants as long as they're up walls or at the back of borders, but there's a fear of putting them 'in front' of anything.
Free-standing vertical elements in a border - tall, slim annuals or perennials, climbers grown on canes or obelisks or suitable shrubs or trees - break up your perception.
Your eyes rest on this "high point". One of the first rules of garden design is don't left everything be seen in one glance. You're forced to look around these 'false corners' to discover what comes next.
Here's some of my favourites:
For annuals, top of the pile has to be the sunflower (Helianthus). The sky's the limit if you grow Mongolian Giant or Giraffe (14ft)! These are novelties - opt for one of the six footers that don't need staking. There's also perennial Helianthus - Lemon Queen is the best.
Sweet peas, trained up an obelisk at the front of the border, can make a great impact. Try Cupani or Old Spice.
The giant mullein, verbascum bombyciferum, has a silvery, woolly rosette of leaves, 3ft across, which gives way to a yellow candlestick of blooms, 6-7ft high. It's a biennial, but seeds itself around freely, as do angelica and purple angelica (Angelica archangelica and gigas).
Verbena bonariensis is a favourite of designers and always dies on me.
Productive crops can perform this role - runner beans are ideal over cane wigwams, as are thornless blackberries (especially Loch Maree).
Stipa gigantea, with its 8ft waving stems are a favourite, as are teasels, both very architectural for winter interest.
Red hot pokers and teasel are good for the back of the border.
Short of space? Plant vertically!
OTHER suitable plants:
Turkish hollyhock (Alcea pallida); cardoon (cynara) or globe artichokes; Kniphofia sp (red hot pokers); tree lilies; Clematis alpina, or climbing roses, grown over obelisks.
Helianthus Lemon Queen and Angelica gigas; Stipa gigantea.
