Flowering plants for the coast

Hope you are having a nice weekend.

Here now, gone tomorrow… It’s really tricky growing flowering plants by the coast. The flowers lose their petals when the wind is strong. The daisy above is suitable for coastal areas, and it’s called Seaside Daisy (Erigeron). I have a few more photos here.

I have bought it for my balcony, but I have lost a few flowers… I will give it a bit more time, before I decide if I keep it…

 

Another plant that is good for coastal conditions is this one with purple flowers (above) called Convolvulus mauritanicus. It is a perennial groundcover, which is also suitable for hanging baskets and as spillover plants.

 

Pretty white flowers…. Alyssum – probably not high on the list for the coast but mine is surviving…

 

Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos) is supposedly bird attracting… this plant is heat and drought tolerant. If they are planted in containers like mine are, they will enjoy a good drink often as containers dry up quickly along the coast.

 

That’s it from me this weekend, have a nice week ahead.

Visit Today’s flowers for more photos.

Flowers for the coast

I am always on the lookout for flowering plants suitable for coastal gardening. Here is one I see a lot along the beach and I bought some recently for my balcony.

The Seaside Daisy (Erigeron) is a hardy perennial groundcover, that flowers almost all year. It likes the sun and grows in most soils. Great for exposed positions, including coastal planting and hanging baskets. Fabulous in cottage gardens too.

The seaside daisy has pink and white blooms

Lovely when the fall over the edge

 

As borders

And these share the garden bed with succulents

 

I also found these along the coast, which look a bit formal. I love the way they fall and their shadows. I have not seen these in the garden centres yet, so I don’t what they are (maybe you do?).

Love the shadows

Love the way the fall…

Have a nice week.

Today’s Flowers : Click on the link for more blogs on flowers.

Silvery bushes

Happy Fertilizer Friday. It has been raining the past two days, so I had to find some photos from my archive. Today’s post is on two silvery plants that I love.

Fabulous as a contrast plant for the garden…

The silvery plant in the photo is called Cushion Bush (Leucophyta brownii), an Australian native plant. The foliage makes the cushion bush a great contrast shrub for the garden. It likes a sunny position and good drainage. A drought and salt tolerant plant, it requires low maintenance and is suitable for coastal gardens. The plant caught my eye when I saw it along the beach, growing amongst succulents. 

  
Cushion Bush and succulents by the beach 

I have bought a little Cushion Bush plant, and I’m still thinking how best to work with it. Temporarily, it’s planted with my kalanchoe (below) and a few other succulents.

Kalanchoe and Cushion Bush

 

Hardy, pretty and smells sweet

Another lovely silvery plant is the Powis Castle. It would make a good companion plant for succulents. They need  little water, full sun and well-drained soil. The Powis Castle can be planted by the sea. And a plus for me is that they smell nice.

I had three, now I have none unfortunately. I made the mistake of throwing them away when they got windblown and grew crooked. What was I thinking! Actually I wasn’t and that was the problem. I might get one when I go to the garden centre… This photo was taken a few months ago.

Powis Castle

 

 

Have a fantastic weekend.

Please visit Fertilizer Friday to see what’s happening in other gardens.

Cactus Monday – Ice Plant and some Zentangle fun

We had lovely weather during the weekend, and I went for a walk with my camera. I found some lovely Ice plant (Delosperma) growing happily along the beach.

Ice plant ground cover in the foreground

A close-up of the ground cover

In this photo, the plants are growing up a wall!

I love the flower – it is so perfect!

My Zentangle pieces

I have had so much fun with these abstract pieces, based on…

• Top:  Rhoeo/”Moses in the Cradle”
• Bottom: Crassula socialis

Happy Cactus Monday, and have a fantastic week.

Please visit Teri’s Painted Daisies for more Cactus Monday links.

Succulent plants at the coast

These photos of healthy and well-established succulents were taken at the coast.

I have 2 of the varieties seen in the photos, and it is comforting to know that at least I have got a couple of plants that will tolerate harsh coastal conditions.

Initial wind-breaking effort

After the windy day last week when most of my larger plants were nearly uprooted, I started to consider different options to protect from the winds on the balcony. The strong winds not only cause the roots to break their bond with the soil, they also caused the precious leaves to fall. The result after the wind was not good – for the garden, as well as for the gardener, who was left feeling a little bit frustrated!

Some options presented during my research to help this balcony garden survive include:

• using plants as wind-breakers,
• erecting trellises, and
• building fencing or screening

For the past week, I have moved some of the affected plants to a corner of the balcony. The walls (pictured below) provide the plants some shelter from the wind. It’s been a week and this solution seems to be working. However, this spot is under the open sky and the plants are subjected to rain. I have to refrain from watering these few pots and hope for the best.

I have also purchased a a storage box ((below), which serves as a wind-breaker as well as a seat. I have placed a few pots next to it. I can only say, so far so good – hopefully it gives enough protection.

Strong coastal winds tested my patience

My patience was tested this morning when the howling wind nearly uprooted most of my new plants. There were no major disasters as all the remaining pots that I have are rather steady, short and stout, since the last skinny pot was blown over and broke last week.

In view of the weather (now and forecast for the coming days), I have moved the smaller and lighter pots to a  more protected area. I decided that I will stay indoors and rescue the plants later.

Ignorance is bliss, so they say. I am a novice gardener, and I was full of hope and enthusiasm when I imagined a balcony full of lovely and lush succulent plants. Now I realise that gardening on a balcony on the coast is going to be a real challenge. This wind is going to be continuous, and there is no barrier in its way.

As the wind continues to howl outside, I am on the computer  looking for a solution. I have not yet decided on my next move, but here is an interesting (probably obvious) fact:

Plants that are adapted to windy conditions usually have small, narrow leaves as well, such as needle-leaved conifers and ornamental grasses…
Source: http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/problems/wind-resistant-plants-for-your-windy-garden.htm

I found these 2 articles relating to gardening in windy conditions rather interesting:
Wind Resistant Plants For Your Windy Garden
Coastal Gardening – Wind

If you have ideas about balcony gardening of succulent on the coast, in constant windy conditions, I’d love to hear from you.