seaside plants

[suelapooh]

i have a garden very close to the sea, has anyone any ideas what to grow? the soil is so dry i planted palms but they died .it gets a lot of wind.please help.and advise where to purchase them.

[gumboil]

Sifting through my copy of "The Flowering Shrub Expert", Hessayon recommends the following as suitable:

Olearia
Arbutus unedo "rubra"
Choisya ternata
Crataegus species
Cotoneaster species
Cytisus species
Ulex species
Tamarix species
Sambucus species
Skimmia species
Viburnum tinus
Spartium junceum
Garrya elliptica

None of these are particularly hard to find and should be available at most of the larger garden centres such as Wyevale. You'll probably find quite a few in B&Q too.

[Buenchico]

The Royal Horticultural Society have got an online plant selector, which can offer plenty of suggestions. Select 'Coastal' from the 'Use' options and then decide what else is important to you:
http://www.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantselector/default .aspx

Chris

[BabsG]

When I lived by the sea I had a tamerisk in the garden which flourished and the feathery branches looked lovely blowing in the wind.

[lafrancaise]

One of the best things to do is to go for a drive in the area and see what is flourishing. These usually mean they need next to no maintenance. I agree with BabsG, tamerisks are no problem along the sea front and really look pretty..

[Thunderbird+]

Hi suelapooh, Dont know what part of the coast you are near, this can mean the word of differance.
Sometimes it's a good idea to look around and see whats growing locally and not what does well.
If it's windy and exposed palms will strugle and take a real beating. The Chusan palm (Trachycarpus fortunii) is by far the hardiest but it is easily damaged by high winds but the miniature fan palm (Trachycarpus wagnerianus) may fair better as the leaves and stalks are altogether smaller.

One shrub that will do well by the sea, and will also make an exellent wind-break for less robust plants is the sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) it is thorny with silvery leaves and masses of orange berries high in vitamin C, but you need to plant both sexes to get the berries.
If you cant find anywhere to purchace them locally, you should be able to buy online. Good Luck Tbird+

[Thunderbird+]

Sorry, "Note what does well"