On Tue, 25 Nov 2003 21:01:00 -0000, "J Rogers"
wrote:

Hi

Are there any good books / leaflets with suggestions for a seaside garden.

"Seaside Gardening" by Christine Kelway, Collingridge, 1962, and/or
"Shrubs for the Milder Counties" by W. Arnold-Forster, Country Life,
1948. Both long out of print, but you may be able to get them
second-hand (try the Advanced Book Exchange http://www.abebooks.com ).
If you have the choice, get Kelway's book in preference to the other:
it'll be a lot cheaper and anyway I reckon she cribbed quite a lot
from Arnold-Forster, whom she knew quite well.

Garden is flat facing the sea looking southwest. On the 50 foot contour.
Obviously a problem with wind and salt but very mild. No trees within 2
miles.
Ground is soil to 3 foot over limestone.

The trouble with a situation like that is you either have a superb
view and a windswept garden, or a perimeter of windbreaks and shelter
trees with a restricted view. We are in a similar situation, but at
300ft. Our approach is to have windbreaks in some parts and to grow
wind-tolerant shrubs etc. in the bit that gives us the best view.

I have been planting Oleria Haasti as a windbreak and to catch the salt, it
is thriving at 8 foot. Other plants have a chance behind it. Escallonia is
slow growing affected by salt I think. Rosa Rugosa does well.

Most of the olerias will take salt gales. Oleria Traversii is good as
a windbreak and more attractive than O. Hastii, as it has silver
undersides to the leaves which show when the wind blows (which is most
of the time, where we live!). Many have dull or insignificant flowers,
but O. semi-dentata (aka Henry Travers) has big daisy-like flowers
with lilac petals and a purple centre, and silver-white young shoots.
O. scilloniensis is a solid mass of brilliant white flowers in summer.

Eleagnus Ebbingei (see recent thread) will also take considerable
punishment. Both O. Traversii and E. Ebbingei are fast growing and
really need to be cut back from time to time otherwise they out-grow
their roots and blow over in extreme exposure (as one of mine did).
The variegated varieties of E.Ebbingei don't seem to be used for
hedging or windbreaks as much even though don't grow so quickly. OK as
specimen shrubs though.

Escallonia is often recommended, but I find it won't take the very
worst weather, losing its leaves and looking very unattractive. Rosa
rugosa also drops its leaves in autumn. If you don't mind their
appearance, the bare stems take any amount of punishment. Kelway and
Arnold-Forster have plenty of other suggestions.

I am thinking of fruit trees behind the Oleria. Can anyone suggest hardy
varieties.

I'm not much of a fruit grower. When we took over this garden there
was an orchard of sorts, with plums/damsons, cherries and apple trees,
protected by a row of Leylandii. Only a couple of the apples ever
fruited, not least because the others didn't even get as far as having
blossom! Whether it was because of the exposed location, or just
because that's the way they were, I don't know. All grubbed out now.
Neither of the books above mention fruit at all.

Also what is the chance of Holm Oak or the Maritime Pine?

Holm Oak will take almost anything, although it grows rather stunted
in very exposed sites. I've seen them in west Cornwall on top of low
cliffs at Prussia Cove where they catch the worst of the SW gales. The
maritime pine (P. pinaster) is also good, slow growing but getting
quite big eventually. Grows extensively around Bournemouth,
apparently.

All suggestions welcomw.

John




--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net