Coastal plants

Plants suited to a coastal planting scheme.

A coastal border faces a particular set of trials: salt-laden wind, fierce sun, free-draining sandy soil and sheer exposure. Plants that cope share telltale features, grey, waxy, leathery or hairy leaves that resist salt burn and reduce water loss, and many are wind-pruned into tough, low mounds. The first priority is a windbreak or shelter belt of resilient shrubs to take the brunt, behind which more tender planting can shelter. Improve sandy soil with organic matter to hold moisture, and avoid tall, brittle plants that snap. These plants are chosen to withstand wind and salt spray, from front-line toughs that shrug off the gales to flowering choices for the calmer ground behind them.

Border Builder is a garden border planner for iPhone and iPad. Pick from the 183 plants below and it works them into a full plan: how many of each, where they go, and how the bed reads through the seasons.

183 plants for this

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