How to Plant a Seashore Garden

If you live beside the ocean, you might wonder if any plant besides sea oats can survive the constant wind, salt spray and sandy soil in this environment. Choosing the right plants and cultivation methods reduces erosion and beautifies your property.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Stakes
• Plastic screening
• Wire cable
• Seaweed
• Mulch
• Compost
• Fertilizer

1. Choose plants that can withstand the harsh conditions of a seashore garden. Trumpet vine, daylilies, rugosa rose, sedum and coreopsis are good choices.

2. Protect shrubs from the wind with a temporary fence fashioned from stakes and plastic screening until they are established. Tolerant shrubs for seashore gardens include bayberry, wax myrtle and yucca.

3. Stake trees with wire cable for the first two seasons of growth. Tolerant trees for seashore gardens include Scotch pine, hawthorn and false cypress.

4. Wash evergreens down with a blast of fresh water if they get sprayed by the surf regularly. Juniper is a low-growing evergreen that is more tolerant of salt spray than most.

5. Take advantage of nature's bounty by gathering seaweed for soil amendment. Seaweed provides trace nutrients, which leach away quickly in sandy soils. Wash the seaweed off, and chop finely before digging into the soil.

6. Use heavy duty mulches that won't blow away such as rocks or pine nugget bark. If you use a rock or gravel mulch, apply over a 3-inch layer of compost to fortify the soil.

7. Water and fertilize at brief but frequent intervals to account for the excellent drainage of the sandy soils found in seashore gardens. Drip irrigation delivers water directly to the roots where it's needed. Fertilize twice as often but at half the strength of the manufacturer's recommendations.