Are you looking for native Australian plants that provide year-round interest with interesting foliage colours?
Blue-Grey Foliage Tones for Your Coastal Planting Scheme
Cool tones like blues and greys are at home in a coastal planting scheme, but only certain plants are able to tolerate the wind, salt and humidity of the coast.
Whether you’re looking for trees and shrubs that stand firm in the sand against the wind, or the sprawling and strappy groundcovers to stabilise the dunes below, this article will give you a list of cool-toned foliage plants suitable for frontline and non-frontline coastal conditions.
While most of the plants belong to species well-known to cope with coastal conditions and/or have been tested for salt tolerance, there are a few hybrids that even though I suspect they’d be fine in a frontline position I’ve made a note that they’re recommended for non-frontline positions, haven’t actually been tested.
Suggested Cool-Toned Coastal-Hardy Plants
Summer Rev™
Dianella spp ‘DIAN04’ PBR Intended Trade name Summer Rev™ (untested – recommended for non-frontal position)
Cassa Blue®
Clarity Blue™
Clarity Blue™ Dianella hybrid ‘DP401’ PBR (untested- recommended for non-frontline positions)
Kingsdale™
Aussie Reflection™
Border Blue™
Border Blue™ Dianthus ‘DIAN 202’ PBR Intended (untested- recommended for non-frontline positions)
Double Gold™
Aussie Flat Bush™
Rhagodia spinescens ‘SAB01’ PBR Trade Name Aussie Flat Bush™
Aussie Hedge Bush™
Rhagodia spinescens ‘SAB02’ PBR Intended Trade Name Aussie Hedge Bush™
Eskdale Blue™
Shara Blue™
Lomandra Fluviatilis ‘LM380’ PBR Trade Name Shara Blue™ (untested, recommended for non-frontline position)
Coastal Pink™
Better John™
Velvet Sky™
Metrosideros collina ‘MB01’ PBR Trade Name Velvet Sky™ (inky blue stems, and blue to green foliage tones dominate depending on climate)
Balance and Harmony
There’s an art and a science to a cool-toned coastal horticulture and landscape design. Firstly, there’s the sometimes inhospitable conditions to contend with such as growing in pure sand at times, not to mention the brutal salt-laden winds and reflected heat.
Secondly, the plants you choose (which are able to tolerate the conditions) need to be able to harmonise aesthetically. That’s the fun bit.
Now that you have a solid palette of blue-toned foliage to work with, you can can play with colours, textures, forms and functions to create coastal gardens that calm the mind.
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