Seaside Gardens

Gardening along the coast presents even the most skilled gardeners with challenges not encountered elsewhere. Natural conditions along the coast create a very hostile environment for garden plants. Wind, salt spray, dry sandy soils as well as actual sea water can make gardening along the coast difficult. All of these factors can cause problems for landscape plants and effect how they grow. In fact, few plants can survive full exposure to the ocean so site preparation and plant selection is perhaps even more critical here than anywhere else. Despite these difficulties, however, there are techniques and guides you can follow to create a more favorable environment for your favorite plants. Building windbreaks as protection from the elements is essential to creating hospitable garden spaces along the coast. Windbreaks should be planted with indigenous seaside plants. Here in Massachusetts, Rosa rugoas, bayberry and eastern red cedar have developed along the coast and have proven their ability to survive the harshest of seaside conditions. They also create more diversity in the garden as well as a habitat for native wildlife. Find out what grows naturally in along the coast in your area and use those plants to create a protected garden space. Begin the screen with a planting of lower growing shrubs such as the above mentioned bayberry and rosa rugosa. This will be the first line of defense against the ocean winds and salt spray.