Create a beautiful and practical coastal garden with this inspiring and comprehensive guide. The seaside can be a stunning setting for a garden, but it can be difficult to find plants that will thrive. Salt-laden winds make the careful selection of plants and landscaping materials vital. This book provides a step-by-step process, as used by professional garden designers, that will help you design, build and plant a beautiful, sustainable and successful garden in these conditions. From initial inspiration to planting and styling techniques, Designing and Creating a Coastal Garden will show you how to create your dream garden by the sea. The coast is a special place for so many of us. The quality of light and air, and the sense of space and freedom, have an irresistible draw on artists and holidaymakers. Those who make their homes by or near sea can feel very privileged to do so. A walk along an exposed sea front in a coastal town will usually reveal front gardens with battered specimens of the same few, not very exciting shrubs and trees. One could be forgiven for giving up on the idea of a coastal garden. But there is no need to despair. This book will show you, step-by-step, how to create a beautiful and practical seaside garden. Gardens evolve over the seasons and over the years with tweaks and experiments, as the gardener's taste and understanding of the garden develops. But a lot of frustration, disappointment and wasted money can be avoided by starting with a good design. And for no type of garden is this truer than for a coastal garden. Designing and Creating a Coastal Garden shows how, beginner or experienced, you can design a garden that will work practically, beautifully and harmoniously with a seaside setting. Detailed advice is given on what plants and what landscaping materials work best on the coast, as well as horticultural techniques and sample planting plans. It is also incredibly rewarding to create habitats and observe the wildlife in a garden. This book shows how to take inspiration from the type of coastal habitat found near a garden both for style and for successful gardening for wildlife. Whatever the scale of your project, from improving a tiny corner, to a major whole-garden restyle, this book will help you create a wonderful garden by the sea.

Part how-to guide, part workbook, and part plant encyclopedia, Coastal Gardening in the Pacific Northwest: From Northern California to British Columbia is the must-have reference book for both experienced gardeners moving to the coast and novice gardeners currently living near the shore. Along with basic information about soil construction, plant selection, and watering needs, Coastal Gardening in the Pacific Northwest includes a workbook that will help you record the unique elements of the coast-wind, salt spray, and sun exposure-and design the garden of your dreams. Master Gardener Carla Albright provides valuable suggestions for vegetables, roses, trees, shrubs, and perennials hearty enough to thrive on the coast, as well as plants that are best avoided. Tips for choosing plants and controlling disease and insects will help you keep your coastal gardening looking its best. Ready for a break? Put down your trowel and take a trip to some of the coastal public gardens listed in the travel guide. These beautiful gardens will provide you with endless ideas that you can try in your own garden.

Since it’s grand opening in June 2007, the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay has become one of Maine’s most popular attractions and one the most distinguished botanical destinations in the country. “Wow!” is the word most often heard from visitors who explore the exquisite gardens, stunning stonework, exceptional natural landscapes, waterfalls, and sculptures. The goal of the Gardens is to preserve the botanical heritage and natural landscapes of coastal Maine. Comprising nearly 250 acres, with numerous themed gardens—including the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses, The Giles Rhododendron and Perennial Garden, and the Burpee Kitchen Garden—miles of trails, and a rich variety of events year-round, the Gardens has something for everyone. Celebrating the Fifth Anniversary of the Maine Botanical Gardens, and honoring the sixteen years of planning and construction that went into them, this book is an inspiring tribute to thisparadise on the Maine coast. Bursting with vivid color photographs, information about the Gardens, and a pinch of practical advice for gardeners, it makes a wonderful keepsake or a great gift to inspire others to visit the Gardens.

The beautifully illustrated Designing Gardens with Flora of the American East approaches landscape design from an ecological perspective, encouraging professional horticulturalists and backyard enthusiasts alike to intensify their use of indigenous or native plants. These plants, ones that grow naturally in the same place in which they evolved, form the basis of the food web. Wildlife simply cannot continue to survive without them-nor can we. Summers provides guidelines for * The best ways to use exotic and nonindigenous plants responsibly * Easy-to-follow strategies for hosting butterflies, bees, moths, birds, and fish * Designs for traditional gardens using native trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, perennials, fruiting plants, and groundcovers as substitutes for exotic plants * How to control plant reproduction, choose cultivars, open-pollinated indigenous plants, and different types of hybrids.

The Netherlands is steeped in horticultural history and its gardens have long been a place for innovation and progressive thinking, exemplified by iconic figures such as the landscape architect Mien Ruys and naturalistic plant pioneer Piet Oudolf. In this book, Noel Kingsbury explores how the particularities of landscape, history and culture in the Netherlands have given rise to distinctive gardens and demonstrates how a new generation of Dutch designers are reimagining outdoor space in such a revolutionary way. At the heart of the story is a people intimately engaged with their surroundings, as proud of the feats of engineering used to reclaim their land from the sea as they are passionate about nature and biodiversity. This creative tension is played out in their parks and gardens: a clean, pared-back aesthetic contrasts with billowing planting; water is managed and made accessible with boardwalks; and meandering paths lead to inviting outbuildings for work and relaxation. These inspiring examples of sustainable, modern, liveable outdoor spaces will appeal to forward-looking garden makers wherever they live.

This book shows astonishingly beautiful spaces in a range of shoreline settings, including ocean dunes, rocky coasts, and wetlands. In addition to including 65 new photographs, this edition features a completely revamped and expanded Plant Encyclopedic, with a new section on tropical plants and tender perennials. The book's lush photographs of seaside oases from the New Jersey shore to Long Island to Maine offer gardeners ideas for using color; fashioning landscapes; creating patio and deck gardens; and constructing ponds, paths, and trellises. A Practical Guide, comprising up-to-date information about sandy soil, salt water, deer, and other seaside predicaments, makes this a complete resource for anyone who gardens in this demanding environment.

A seaside garden has special challenges: the combination of sun, salt air, and tricky soil can thwart even the most determined gardener. This practical guide shows exactly how to achieve success, from initial planning and design through full flowering and maintenance. It shows which plants and planting strategies work best for the coastal microclimate, and offers plenty of tips for windswept and very dry areas; proven advice for container gardening; and plans for a range of attractive, easy-to-maintain gardens, from manicured and elegant to lush and exotic.