Landscaping by the seashore presents some difficult challenges for the homeowner. The seashore is an extremely harsh environment and the plants have to endure salt spray, heavy rains, high winds, dry conditions, sandy soils and heat. The right plant choices will create a lush colorful landscape, prevent erosion, be non-invasive and increase your property’s value. The wrong choices will be expensive and leave you with bare sandy soil.
The web sites listed below will help you choose the appropriate plants for your location. In addition, many of the local nurseries/garden centers have free lists of seaside suitable native plants and will work with you to make the right decision. Some of the nurseries/garden centers also have out-of-print copies of Cornell Cooperative Extension Seashore Planting Guide and Cornell Cooperative Extension List of Ornamental Plants for New York Seashores (1973); they are two very helpful publications.
With any project by the seashore, keep in mind that the location may be subject to restrictions by the town of Southold and/or New York State; before you spend any money, check with the town for rules or restrictions that may apply to you property.
· www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,216631,00.html has a short article on gardening by the sea.
· www.uri.edu/cels/ceoc/coastalplants is the University of Rhode Island web site and offers an easy to read list of coastal plants and their characteristics.
· http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/parks_divisions/gnpc/habitat_species_lists/habitat_costal_maritime.html look under Greenbelt Native Plant Center – has an excellent list of local coastal plants
· www.plantnative.com has a comprehensive list of Long Island native plants; look for native plant listings under New York, Long Island
· www.landscaping.about.com/od/landscapingproblems1/a/salt_tolerant.htm under seaside plantings or salt tolerant plants has a very informative video as well as a list of plants that thrive in sandy, salty environments.
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