Coastal gardens have a charm blending informality with resilience. But you don’t need to live by the sea to enjoy the same feel.
With the right mix of plants, textures, and styling, you can recreate the relaxed mood of the coast at home.
Structure with a soft touch:
Choose plants that offer both toughness and texture. Armeria maritima (thrift) is a timeless choice with pink pom-pom blooms and grassy foliage.
It thrives in dry, free-draining soils and looks right at home in gravel or rock gardens. Crambe maritima (sea kale) is another coastal native, perfect for creating bold foliage contrast. Its ruffled silver-green leaves and frothy spring flowers bring structure and style, and the young leaves are edible too.
For vertical form, try Phormium ‘Pink Panther’, which has colourful, strappy leaves that add drama.
Summer colour that lasts:
Erigeron ‘Wayne Roderick’ produces lavender-pink daisies that flower for months. It self-seeds into cracks and paving for a relaxed, natural effect. For a companion plant, try Santolina rosmarinifolia, with aromatic green foliage and bright yellowbutton flowers. Limonium platyphyllum (sea lavender) thrives in exposed spots and produces a cloud of tiny, papery blooms from mid- to late summer. Despite its delicate look, it’s very hardy and ideal for dry conditions.
Fragrance and function:
Incorporating herbs adds sensory interest and practicality. Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Miss Jessopp’s Upright’ is particularly suited to coastal planting. With its upright habit and scented grey-green foliage, it’s useful for cooking and provides year-round structure.
Movement is key to coastal designs, bringing sound and softness to planting schemes. Festuca glauca ‘Intense Blue’ forms compact domes of steely blue leaves, perfect for edging paths or dotting through gravel beds.
To add height and motion, Stipa tenuissima delivers fine, feathery plumes that catch the light and rustle in the wind. It softens harder edges and brings a wild, natural finish to planting schemes.
Find out more about picking the best ornamental grasses for your garden at my YouTube channel,@daviddomoney.
Finishing the look:
Use reclaimed and weathered materials to enhance the theme. Old rope coils, driftwood, and stone make excellent natural features.
Reuse maritime finds like fish crates as planters, and consider a sand-filled play area for children to give the garden a true sense of fun and coastal atmosphere. By combining tough, beautiful plants with playful texture and relaxed design, you can truly transform your outdoor space into a garden that echoes the charm of the sea.
1.Thin out congested rows of crops such as carrots, beetroot and turnips to give remaining plants the space they need to swell. Use scissors or pull gently to avoid disturbing nearby roots. Water afterwards to help remaining crops settle and continue growing evenly. Thinning also improves airflow and reduces the risk of pest and disease problems.
2.Collect seed from annuals like calendula, poppy, nigella and cornflower once the seedheads are dry and papery. Choose a dry day and gently shake or tap heads into paper bags. Label and store the seeds in envelopes in a cool, dry place, ready for sowing next spring. Seed saving is a cost-effective way to keep garden favourites going. Find out how at my YouTube channel, @daviddomoney.
3.As flowering finishes on agapanthus and lilies, gradually reduce watering. These plants are entering dormancy and don’t like sitting in wet soil over autumn. Allowing them to dry out naturally helps prepare them for their rest period.
4.Support container-grown plants that are still blooming, such as dahlias and salvias, by feeding with a high-potash fertiliser. This helps strengthen stems and encourages more flowers rather than leafy growth. Feed once a week while plants are actively flowering.
5.Cut back early-flowering perennials like hardy geraniums and geums to encourage a fresh flush of leaves. This keeps borders tidy and may even trigger a second, lighter bloom if the weather allows. Use clean, sharp tools and water well after cutting.
Focus Plant: Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea, or coneflower, brings a welcome burst of colour and structure to late summer borders when many other blooms are fading. Its upright stems and bold daisy-like flowers add height, texture and pollinator appeal to planting schemes.
In August, cultivars like Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’ and ‘Fatal Attraction’ are at their best. ‘Magnus’ produces large, deep pink petals and a bold orange cone, whilst ‘Fatal Attraction’ offers vivid magenta blooms with dark, almost black stems. For a more understated look, ‘White Swan’ brings elegant white petals and yellow-green centres, perfect for mixing with grasses or silver foliage.
Coneflowers thrive in full sun and well-drained soil, and once established, they’re very drought-tolerant. Water during prolonged dry spells and mulch to retain moisture. Deadheading can extend flowering into early autumn or leave seedheads in place for structure and wildlife interest.
Cut back the old stems in late autumn or early spring. Divide mature clumps every few years to maintain vigour and increase your stock.
FUN FACT: Echinacea belongs to the daisy family, and its name comes from the Greek word for hedgehog, echinos, referring to the spiny central cone that gives the flower its unique shape.
Did you know?
Fairy rings, those mysterious circles of mushrooms on lawns or meadows, are caused by underground fungal networks. As the fungus grows outward, it depletes nutrients in the centre, leading to distinctive rings of mushrooms or greener grass.
Gregor Mendel, the father of modern genetics, used pea plants to uncover the basic laws of inheritance. By studying traits like flower colour and seed shape, he revealed how characteristics are passed from one generation to the next.
Studies show that bees can learn to recognise individual human faces. They use a type of visual processing like humans, piecing together facial features to form a pattern. This ability helps them identify flowers and navigate complex environments.
Mahonia is a winter-hardy shrub that can flower for up to 10 months in mild climates. Its cheerful yellow blooms appear from late autumn to early summer, providing vital nectar for pollinators through colder months.