It''s nearly back to school/work time. This time tomorrow i'll be running round in a blue funk trying to get out the door, - but today i'm going to show you the evidence that if you find the right plant they will survive and thrive even in the hardest places.
Sandy Soil is very free draining, and comparitively to loam or clay has big particles of dirt. - This means that it holds very few nutrients and isn't stable for plants to grow large in, but we've just come back from France and where our holiday home is, just back from the sandy beaches of Normandy, some plants have taken on the challenge of growing with little water and nutrition with applomb.
This is a seaside footpath that borders our coastal river estuary. Just to show you how close to the sea these plants are, - that boat is currently floating at high tide, but when the tide goes down, it will be beached on sand. The land behind it is a sand dune, - the other side of that (about 20metres beyond it at high tide) is the sea.
Despite these hostile soil conditions, some plants look fantastic, and are flowering their socks off
Rosa Glauca
Tamarix Pentandra
Lots of Buddleyas
And in the gardens along the coastal hedges of Cotoneaster, Pittosporum Tobira, Eleagnus and Escallonia are these beauties - Hollyhocks, Abelia Grandiflora and Hibiscus.
I love getting planting inspiration from these real life situations, which mean that I can smile when people tell me that "nothing grows here", and know that even in the hardest soil, there is something that will flower and light up the border.
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