Gardening by the Sea

|photos by Photos John Martinelli (www.johnmartinelliphotography.com)

Planting a garden along the coast can be tricky, but don’t despair. There are ways to combine gardening with the salty, windy conditions we face at the seashor

Seashore gardening is all about choosing the right plants, amending the soil, and providing a screen from the wind:

Visiting gardens in your neighborhood will help you recognize what thrives in your particular area.

Wind is a big concern; it can be deadly on shrubs, so making a screen to protect your garden will certainly reduce the problem.

You can add a great number of plants to this list if you follow the advice above. By putting in a little hard work (or letting a landscape company do it for you!), you will be rewarded with a beautiful garden by the sea.

Listed below are plants that thrive by

the sea:

Trees and shrubs: holly, Eastern Red Cedar, Ragusa rose, bayberry, yucca, hydrangea, and Hollywood juniper

Perennials: blanket flower, day lily, yarrow, Shasta daisy, grasses, hosta, rudbeckia, perennial geraniums, sedums, and lamb’s ear

Annuals: portulacca, lantana, geraniums, and gazanias