Periodical salt-water flooding
 

I know some couples who live on large boats in Kent; a few times a
year the spring tides flood the gardens at their moorings. I haven't
yet been involved long enough to be sure which plants can take it in
the long term and which can't (except that I see half a dozen cornus
alba caved in completely in a few months).

Has anybody got any experience or knowledge of this fascinating
garden problem?

Mike.

In article ,
"Mike Lyle" writes:
| I know some couples who live on large boats in Kent; a few times a
| year the spring tides flood the gardens at their moorings. I haven't
| yet been involved long enough to be sure which plants can take it in
| the long term and which can't (except that I see half a dozen cornus
| alba caved in completely in a few months).
|
| Has anybody got any experience or knowledge of this fascinating
| garden problem?

It's worth taking a look at what grows in southern Cornwall - I am
pretty sure that the oaks around the Helford estuary, for example,
get soaked regularly. Not by flooding, but by a high tide being
driven by the wind. There are quite a lot of other places around
the country that have similar properties.

I am pretty sure that tamarisk can take it, but it likes sand.
And there are a lot of herbaceous plants that grow very close to
the tide marks.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
"Mike Lyle" writes:
I know some couples who live on large boats in Kent; a few times
a
year the spring tides flood the gardens at their moorings. I
haven't
yet been involved long enough to be sure which plants can take it
in
the long term and which can't (except that I see half a dozen
cornus
alba caved in completely in a few months).

Has anybody got any experience or knowledge of this fascinating
garden problem?

It's worth taking a look at what grows in southern Cornwall - I am
pretty sure that the oaks around the Helford estuary, for example,
get soaked regularly. Not by flooding, but by a high tide being
driven by the wind. There are quite a lot of other places around
the country that have similar properties.

I am pretty sure that tamarisk can take it, but it likes sand.
And there are a lot of herbaceous plants that grow very close to
the tide marks.

Tamarisk (the later-flowering species: I couldn't get the earlier
one, though I planned to mix them) is taking it in its stride so far.
Curiously, so is a solitary licorice, which I included just for fun,
though it's hardly decorative.

Camomiles dotted in the lawn have failed; but as might be expected
the grass is flourishing, though only a bog-standard gc turf mixture.

Mike.

Janet Baraclough.. wrote:
The message
from "Mike Lyle" contains
these
words:

I know some couples who live on large boats in Kent; a few times a
year the spring tides flood the gardens at their moorings. I
haven't
yet been involved long enough to be sure which plants can take it
in
the long term and which can't (except that I see half a dozen
cornus
alba caved in completely in a few months).

Has anybody got any experience or knowledge of this fascinating
garden problem?

There's a salt marsh/golf course in the village that often gets
sea-flooded on spring tides. The following are robustly
naturalised;
gorse, wild broom, elymus (grass), various rushes, single rugosa
roses, wild briars, blackberries, scrub willow, montbretia, yellow
flag iris.

Picking and choosing among those, they could experiment with
better
garden forms such as double-flowered gorse, fancy brooms, the more
glamourous rugosas, crocosmias etc, more interesting rushes irises
and
grasses and decorative shrubby willows.

They might also try sea buckthorn, Californian poppies, and
asparagus.

Not to mention spinach beet! The native sea beet loves it there.
Thanks for valuable ideas: I hadn't considered crocosmias. I was
already wondering about willows to replace the failed cornus --
golden osiers are lovely in winter. (I nearly bred a red-stemmed
willow by accident back in Wales, where I grew a lot of golden
osiers, but it wouldn't stay red after the first few inches.) The
pinks seem to be surviving; though not in the most flooded section;
lavenders' performance is mixed: I theorize that grey leaves are a
good sign. I'll recommend eryngiums, of course, when I actually _see_
any for sale.

I know this is a pretty rare situation, but it's interesting, and
I'll report back at intervals. Meanwhile, any more ideas?

Mike.

Mike Lyle wrote in message
...
Janet Baraclough.. wrote:
The message
from "Mike Lyle" contains
these
words:

I know some couples who live on large boats in Kent; a few times a
year the spring tides flood the gardens at their moorings. I
haven't
yet been involved long enough to be sure which plants can take it
in
the long term and which can't (except that I see half a dozen
cornus
alba caved in completely in a few months).

Has anybody got any experience or knowledge of this fascinating
garden problem?

There's a salt marsh/golf course in the village that often gets
sea-flooded on spring tides. The following are robustly
naturalised;
gorse, wild broom, elymus (grass), various rushes, single rugosa
roses, wild briars, blackberries, scrub willow, montbretia, yellow
flag iris.

Picking and choosing among those, they could experiment with
better
garden forms such as double-flowered gorse, fancy brooms, the more
glamourous rugosas, crocosmias etc, more interesting rushes irises
and
grasses and decorative shrubby willows.

They might also try sea buckthorn, Californian poppies, and
asparagus.

Not to mention spinach beet! The native sea beet loves it there.
Thanks for valuable ideas: I hadn't considered crocosmias. I was
already wondering about willows to replace the failed cornus --
golden osiers are lovely in winter. (I nearly bred a red-stemmed
willow by accident back in Wales, where I grew a lot of golden
osiers, but it wouldn't stay red after the first few inches.) The
pinks seem to be surviving; though not in the most flooded section;
lavenders' performance is mixed: I theorize that grey leaves are a
good sign. I'll recommend eryngiums, of course, when I actually _see_
any for sale.

I know this is a pretty rare situation, but it's interesting, and
I'll report back at intervals. Meanwhile, any more ideas?

Mike.


Hi Mike,

How about Crambe maritima or C. cordifolia?
There is a native yellow-flowered Horned Poppy - sorry, don't know the
scientific name.
Erigerons, including E. karvinskianus.
Armeria maritima (Sea Thrift)
I have seen Polygonum (Japonica) cuspidata - Japanese Knotweed! - growing at
shoreline, so perhaps some of the more decorative and less invasive
Polyognum/Persicarias would be worth trying.
Isle of Wight coastal gardens (where I holiday) use hedges of Escallonia,
Griselinia (sp?), laurel, Cistus, Hardy Fuchsias, Hebe.

The good news about this type of site is *no slugs or snails*.

Spider

Janet Baraclough.. wrote in message
...
The message
from "Spider" contains these words:



The good news about this type of site is *no slugs or snails*.

Strangely, the damp saltiness of salt marshes (and the gritty, sandy
dry saltiness of machair) doesn't seem to deter all snails. The small
(land) snails with pastel stripey shells seem to revel in it.

Janet.

Oops! I must bow to your superior knowledge, Janet. Perhaps I'll just
stick to spiders and plants in future.
That's just typical of snails - they wreck your plants and optimism in one
fell swoop!

Spider
PS: Sorry, Janet, that seems to infer that you are a snail ... truly not
intentioned!