It all seems so basic…purchase it, plant it, water it, and watch it grow. But even those of us who have gardening experience can find it daunting.
A good dose of common sense, an effort to do some research and a quick study of what exactly the proximity to salt water can do to your plants will help alleviate some of the challenges.
I have found that knowing your property well, especially with regard to north/south boundaries and the prevailing winds, will go a long way toward assuring the survival of your plantings. This is because some plant material is very much hardier than others and will not mind the occasional saltwater “bath” from a Nor’easter while others will simply shrivel up and die.
That doesn’t mean that you can’t grow some of those lovely cottage garden charmers if you live on the water; rather, to survive, they should be planted on the “lee” side of your house, out of the prevailing wind, hence less subject to salt spray.
Waterside planting falls within the purview of the Town Trustees; but to date there has not been a suggested list of “acceptable plants” published by them; their office advised that they are working with a list* provided by Cornell University Extension in Riverhead. There is a requirement of a vegetated buffer which, for larger lots, could be as much as a 50 foot setback from the landward edge of wetlands, the top of the bluff or bulkhead on new construction sites. It could also come into play with the renovation of existing waterfront properties. This space may not be planted with any plants, certainly not lawn or any garden material that will require fertilizer, garden pest spraying or any other contaminating activity vis-a-vis runoff into a creek, the Bay or the Sound. While this may not be a favorite requirement of waterfront homeowners, the purpose of this law is ultimately the health of our pristine waters and that should be the goal of all of us who live on the water and even those of us who don’t. The best advice to follow is to check with the Trustees before you invest in any landscape project to be sure that you comply with the applicable requirements.
So with this information in mind may I recommend that you search the following websites for pertinent information regarding native plants especially, as well as for those recommended for seaside planting. This list is by no means exhaustive but it is certainly a good place to start. Coupling this information with visits to our own local nurseries, where professional advice is readily available, should get you off to a good start, or help you renovate your gardens with a better understanding of what responsible seaside gardening is all about.
Good growing!
Fran Sladkus, Master Gardener, 2000
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/gardening/woodies/pdfs/seashores.pdf
This CU Extension list is not recent and some of the items are now on the invasive list so please cross-compare your choices.
Bookshelves at your local library will have great resource material for your search.
A general search of the web using such topics as “Long Island Native Plants”, “Seaside Gardening”, etc. will result in many hits for you to browse. Below are a few suggested sites:
nsgd.gso.uri.edu/nysgi/nysgit88002.pdf: (this is a generally very informative, though old [1914], publication; some of the information in this publication is dated and there are a some suggested plants listed which have been classified as invasive, e.g. Russian olive or Autumn olive)
www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/plants: great place to check out what has been declared invasive
www.ipcnys.org/sections/resources/nurseries.html
www.invasive.org/weedsus/index.html
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