GOING to the seaside is such an uplifting experience, with the huge expanses of blue water, sandy beaches and open air pursuits.

Many people return home with dreams of living on the coast, but for gardeners it can bring a glut of problems, thanks to sea spray and strong winds.

Windbreaks are essential, along with a variety of plants which will withstand the constant salt spray, sandy soils and drying wind.

Yet if you choose carefully, your coastal garden can come into its own in summer, taking advantage of the fact that you’re unlikely to suffer the frosts of inland regions, thanks to the sea’s moderating influence on temperature.

The seaside garden can be a place for bright, loud colour – whites, sizzling oranges, vivid cerises and shocking pinks. Calendulas, eschscholzias, mesembryanthemums and other annuals grow vigorously and seed freely in gravel.

Use materials which match the setting – pebbles, driftwood, shells are all ideal partners for plants which can take a coastal hammering.

Coastal gardens don’t have much green but tend to concentrate on different shapes and textures.

Foliage is usually silver, grey and blue, which contrasts well with zingy flower colours. Agaves and other exotic looking plants can do well in pots in the mild climate of seaside gardens.

There are many plants which are tough enough to withstand all that salt spray and sea breeze can throw at them, but as a rule of thumb you will find that those with tough, leathery leaves as well as spiny and hairy plants should have more resistance to drying winds.

Silver foliage shrubs and perennials such as the sun-loving lavandula angustifolia, brachyglottis ‘Sunshine’ and helichrysum italicum provide soft, silver mounds of foliage and can be trimmed back after flowering in summer and again in early spring to keep them in shape.

Rosemary and sage also look good with silver foliage perennials in the seaside garden, while cistus and helianthemums do well if sheltered from salt winds. Patio pots are best filled with droughtresistant sun-lovers such as pelargoniums and gazanias in bold colours.

The first job is to make an effective windbreak, preferably from a natural source, such as a hedge or wind-filtering barrier of trees or shrubs which are of good depth, preferably planted in two or more staggered rows. Good species for this job include pine, alder, hawthorn and hornbeam.

Elaeagnus x ebbingei, an evergreen with dark green leaves with silver undersides, will grow quickly to 3m (10ft), providing a substantial windbreak grown as a hedge or free-growing shrub.

Escallonias are also fantastic shrubs for seaside gardens, with their attractive white, pink or red flowers produced from late spring to early autumn.

Alternatively, you could go for a fence-like windbreak such as woven wattle or willow hurdles, which are available from garden centres or local craftsmen. Have a look in the classified sections of any of the gardening magazines and you should find what you want.

Once you have a sheltered garden, that widens the choice of plants you will be able to grow there. Before you start, test your soil. Many seaside gardens are high in alkaline because of the high calcium content of crushed sea shells. If you have alkaline soil, don’t plant lime-haters such as rhododendron or azalea, because they won’t do well.

If your soil is sandy, beef it up with some organic matter to retain moisture and add nutrients. Once you have done this, mulch the area with compost or chipped bark to keep in the moisture.

Walk around the area and make a note of the plants which are thriving in neighbouring gardens, so you know what would do well in yours. Plants which may be suitable for your seaside garden include eryngium (sea holly), echinops (globe thistle), crocosmia, sedum and heuchera, with a mix of shrubs and climbers including buddleia, berberis, broom, ceanothus, escallonia, hebe, weigela and lavatera.

Make the most of rock plants such as Armeria maritima, aubrieta, dianthus alpinus, phlox subulata, stachys and iris pumila.

Despite the harsh conditions the coast can bring, gardeners who live by the sea need not bury their heads in the sand because it is possible to create a haven of colour there.