Dwellers on the state's beaches can choose from a host of salt-tolerant shrubs, groundcovers and trees. Puff the Magic Dragon, however, is not included.
By JOHN A. STARNES JR.
Published July 26, 2003
[Times photos: John A. Starnes Jr.]
The fragrant blooms and glossy foliage of Confederate jasmine may look delicate, but this hardy, salt-defiant vine is perfect for a fence or arbor in a seaside garden.
The bright color and exotic long leaves of this pink oleander epitomize the tropics and, along with the plant’s salt-tolerance, make it a natural on the beach.
Too beautiful to be hardy? Not this eye-catching yellow hibiscus, which grows undaunted by gulf or ocean mist.
Being the "the salt of the earth" is a trait we admire in people, but it is not an attribute we want in our soil. Many homeowners who live mere feet from the beach have a mixed blessing: seaside living and gardens that suffer the effects of salt spray. But if they make a few wise plant choices and use soil-healing techniques, beachfront gardeners can create landscapes that even the castaways of Gilligan's Island would envy.
A natural method of leaching salt from soil is to sprinkle gypsum on it - about as heavily as you would Parmesan cheese on spaghetti - twice a year. The calcium in the gypsum replaces the sodium. Look for gypsum at feed stores and garden centers, and if they don't carry it, ask them to.
Beds can be kept mulched with chipped tree limbs and fed each March, July, September and December with cottonseed meal (check feed stores). This helps to keep the soil slightly acidic and damp, thus making salt easier to leach during rains or irrigation.
Seaside lawns can be a challenge because Bahia and St. Augustine grass do poorly in salty, sandy soil, and Sea Isle Paspalum can be a disappointment. Bermuda grass does surprisingly well, and many municipal beaches are sodding picnic and play areas with it. It's tough, soft, aggressive and tolerates a surprising amount of foot traffic and salt spray.
Instead of grass, plant groundcover vines that can be mowed a few times a year for a uniform look. Although they can't take the foot traffic that turf grass can, they clothe seaside sand in low dense growth that bears lovely blooms. Try wedelia (yellow daisies), railroad vine (purplish pink morning glories), beach morning glory (white funnels) or the purple giant wandering Jew (Setcreasea purpurea).
Feed the soil each March, July, September and December with a generous sprinkling of Select Series Gro Formula rabbit food sold at feed stores supplied by Manna Pro Corp.
Why rabbit food? The alfalfa and other natural sources of nutrients do wonders to feed sandy soil and plants. The pellets are easy to scatter by hand, and the cost is lower than many chemical fertilizers. It's also harmless to pets and children.
If you want to surround your seaside home with waves of color, fill the bottom of each planting hole with purchased or homemade compost. Buy salt-tolerant flowering perennials such as bush allamanda, lantana, purslane, blue daze, geranium, many hibiscuses, Rosa rugosa (own root), Crown of Thorns Euphorbia, dwarf poinciana, oleander, dwarf Rhaphiolepsis, yellow elder Stenolobium, plumeria, beach daisy and the old-fashioned periwinkle.
Want colorful vines on fences misted by the gulf? Try colorful or fragrant gems such as Tecomaria (cape honeysuckle), bougainvillea, Confederate jasmine, Mexican flame vine, Carolina Jessamine, or moon vine (easy to grow from seed).
Salt tolerant trees include carrotwood, live oak, Norfolk Island Pine and slash pine. What would your landscape be without palms? Try beauties such as silver palm, Washingtonia palm, Canary Island date, pindo palm and our native cabbage palm.
A dense hedge can offer privacy and windbreak around a pool or seaside garden while keeping sea spray at bay. Salt-sneering toughies include wax myrtle, salt bush, sea grape, oleander (toxic if eaten) and silverthorn Eleagnus. A row of closely spaced pampas grass can offer a graceful yet dense visual screen around patios and hot tubs.
In March, July, September and December, feed your beachside yard with Select Series Gro Formula rabbit food (ideally before a heavy rain so each pellet will disintegrate, and the seagulls won't steal them) to keep the soil fertile and slightly more acidic (salt and seashell bits tend to make coastal soils too alkaline).
- John A. Starnes Jr., born in Key West, is an avid organic gardener and rosarian who studies, collects, cultivates and hybridizes roses for Florida. He can be reached at JohnAStarnes@aol.com
