A BLOOMIN' BEACH

SEASIDE LIFE IS EASY ON THE EYE BUT CAN BE HARD GOING ON PLANTS SO CHOOSE CAREFULLY TO FRAME YOUR COASTAL VISTA WITH SPIKES OF FLOWERS AND SPIRES OF FOLIAGE

1 CASTLES IN THE SAND

Don’t mow on your holidays. Instead, replace your lawn with sandy soil-tolerant plants such as crocosmia, spurge (Euphorbia sp), liquorice plant (Helichrysum sp), verbena, lavender and yuccas – or any salt-hardy plants that fill gaps and rise like a fortress into the sky.

an endless horizon, soaring seagulls, the gentle rhythm of rolling surf, a refreshing sea breeze – life’s a beach and you’re alive. But is your garden? That warm, enveloping – but salt-laden – breeze can be brutal and destructive to your inland favourites. Here’s how to turn a breeze-burnt, sun-scorched, salt-sodden patch into a robust and gorgeous coastal garden.

COASTAL CONDITIONS

Sandy soil along our coastal suburbs means water and nutrients quickly drain away. Sea breezes keep the air dry and can stunt or twist growth. Salt spray can be toxic to plants. But coastal plants have adapted to these elements – often they are smaller and more compact than when grown inland. Foliage is where you see the most obvious adaptations. Leaves can be smaller or produce fine hairs to reduce moisture loss, they may be shinier to reflect heat, or be leathery as a breeze buffer. They can also thicken as protection against sun, salt and wind, and to store water.

2 PLONK IN POLES – PRECIOUS!

Enhance your environment and lay crushed gravel – a sand lookalike, but bigger and tougher – for paths and create a visual barrier of weathered paling planks or naturally sculptured drift wood picked up from your beach (check with your local authority if this is allowed).

3 THE CUSHION EFFECT