Continuous salt winds and fast-draining, sandy soil make gardening on the shore a challenge. While demanding backyard shrubs and ornamental grasses last year round, long-blooming flowering plants add a colorful accent. Discover those five sturdy coastal-friendly blossoms that add summer cheer into your landscape.
Genevieve Schmidt
The May Night sage (Salvia nemorosa ‘Mainacht’, zone 4) in the foreground adds a beautiful purple accent into the coastal backyard. It requires very little maintenance or supplemental water to perform well. When in bloom, it reaches 18 inches tall, and in the winter it is simply cut to the floor. The plant flowers May through July and is the best companion to landscape roses; the blossoms attract beneficial insects that eat aphids.
The sage in this photo is revealed with yellow-flowered Euphorbia, green Santolina and orange wallflower/ Erysimum (for sheltered locations).
Genevieve Schmidt
Landscape roses, like Pink Flower Carpet roses (Rosa x ‘Noatraum’, zone 5), bloom easily from June through frost. While the flowers aren’t acceptable for vases, they exude masses of cheer and match perfectly with colorful ornamental grasses.
8 Ornamental Grasses for the Coast
Genevieve Schmidt
Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum x superbum, zone 4) also attract beneficial insects that consume plant pests. They are available in a range of sizes, from 1 foot to 3 feet tall, and also come in shades of white and pale yellowish. Choose the frilly white ‘Crazy Daisy’ for a daring display of fringed petals, or ‘Broadway Lights’ for a highlight accent. Golden-flowered Euphorbia and a magenta Penstemon border the Shasta daisies in this photo.
Genevieve Schmidt
Rozanne hardy cranesbill (Geranium ‘Rozanne’, zone 4) has been a popular garden plant since it won the Perennial Plant Association’s Plant of the Year honour in 2008. And no wonder! This perennial flower tumbles over the floor, reaching up to 3 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide. The purple flowers have a white center that fits next to white-flowered plants. If you prefer Rozanne, check out additional hardy cranesbills that will withstand the unpleasant shore conditions.
Genevieve Schmidt
Sunrose (Helianthemum ‘Henfield Brilliant’ and much more, zone 5) comes in a wide array of colours, such as apricot, vibrant orange, crimson, yellow, white and pink. The foliage is kept tightly to the floor, therefore it only reaches about 8 inches tall, but it can spread 3 to 5 feet wide depending on the variety. This produces a stunning plant for the foreground of any drought-tolerant coastal perennial garden, and it has a very long bloom season.
More:
Breeze Into Coastal Landscapes
8 Ornamental Grasses for Coastal Gardens