On Sat, 19 Oct 2002 17:20:57 +0100, "Aries"
wrote:

We are moving to a beach side house in the near future and would like to
plant shrubs and trees that will thrive well on the Sussex Coast. Any
suggestions gratefully received. TIA

Remember that there are two aspects to coastal survival. Silver-leaved
plants will take the salt gales of winter better than most, as the
hairs on the leaves that give the silver appearance protect the
underlying leaf surface. Also good survivors are shrubs with tough
leathery leaves. On the coast, you should be able to grow shrubs that
would not survive frosts further inland. Many New Zealand trees and
shrubs are very tolerant of seaside conditions.

A list would include buddleia, callistemon, ceanothus, choisya,
cistus, cordyline (for height), cotoneaster, cytisus, eryngium (sea
holly), heathers, hebes of all sorts, hardy fuschias, genista,
helichrysum, hibiscus, hydrangea, lavender, tree lupin, olerias of all
sorts, osothamnus, santolina, senecio, gorse (get the double flowered
variety), yucca.

The second aspect is that it shouldn't blow over in the gales. Shelter
and hedging shrubs include Oleria Traversii, Eleagnus Ebbingei (not
the variegated forms, they're not so vigorous), Griselinia, Tamarisk,
Escallonia. Only the last two have attractive flowers, although the
tiny white flowers of the eleagnus have a wonderful scent in Autumn.
Good staking initially is important, then cutting back to about 3 ft
after a couple of years to allow the roots and lower stem to grow and
strengthen, which will allow them to support subsequent growth. For
tall shrubs, it may be necessary to cut back again in a year or two,
this time to say 5 ft.

If you can find copies of the following, they're well worth getting as
they have a wealth of useful information on seaside gardening.

"Shrubs for the Milder Counties", by W. Arnold-Forster, published by
Country Life, 1948.

"Seaside Gardening" by Christine Kelway, published by Collingridge,
1962.

Long out of print of course, but try searching for s/h copies on the
Advanced Book Exchange, http://www.abebooks.com

Go for the second if you have a choice. It'll be cheaper, and I think
she must have had Arnold-Forster's book open along side her when she
wrote hers!
--
Chris
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