Barrier Beach Gardening

From BBPA

1 Endangered Species
2 Natural Plantings
3 Upland Trees
4 Upland Shrubs
5 Upland Perenial Wildflowers

[edit] Endangered Species

Seabeach Amaranth [12][13] An annual plant that exhibits low, relatively prostrate growth with fleshy, rounded, dark green leaves (1-2 cm long) clustered near tips of fleshy, reddish stems. Plants germinate April to July, initially forming a small sprig but soon to branch out and form a clump which binds sand at its base. The species is restricted to sandy ocean beaches and its habitat consists of the sparsely vegetated zone between the high tide line and the toe of the primary dune.

The back of the primary dune has exposure to salt laden sea breezes, these areas behind the beach are very similar in many respects to a desert environment for the stationary plants found growing there. It is very hot with sand surface temperatures of 1200 F. not uncommon. It is also very dry. Rainwater percolates very rapidly through sand and so plants must have very deep root systems to reach the water table below.

The plants listed below will do well in the area between the ocean front dune to the front yards of the bay side houses.

[edit] Natural Plantings

A big benefit to natural plantings is that they are deer resistant, need little or no care and help sustain the beach's wildlife and natural beauty.

Here is a quick guide to 'going natural' in the beach garden.

[edit] Upland Trees

American Holly	Black Cherry	Black Gum	Green Hawthorn
Eastern Red Cedar	Pin Oak	Pitch Pine	Sassafras
Scrub Oak	Serviceberry	Staghorn Sumac	White Oak

[edit] Upland Shrubs

Winter Holly	Sweet Pepper Bush	Shadblow Service Berry	Red Chokeberry
Pasture Rose	Northern Blackberry	Northern Bayberry	Low Bush Blueberry
High Bush Blueberry	Elderberry	Beach Rose	Beach Plum

[edit] Upland Perenial Wildflowers

Wild Petunia Ruellia humilis [1]	Wild Blue Lupine	Sweet Joe-Pye Weed Eupatorium purpureum [2]	Stiff Aster
Smooth Aster Aster laevis Bluebird [3]	Sickle Leaf Golden Aster	Seaside Purple Aster	Pirckly Pear
Pearly Everlasting	New York Aster Aster novi belgii [4]	Mayapple	Maryland Golden Aster Chrysopsis mariana [5]
Iron Weed Vernonia noveboracensis [6]	Horsemint	Heath Aster Aster ericoides [7]	Hairy Beardtongue
Goats Rue	Evening Primrose	Eastern Blazing Star	Common Milkweed
Butterfly Weed Asclepias tuberosa [8]	Blue False Indigo Baptisia australis [9]	Blue Eyed Grass Sisyrinchium ang Lucerne [10]	Black Eyed Susan Rudbeckia ful var fulgida [11]
Bearberry	Barren Skullcap