Overcome The Challenges Of Gardening By The Sea

Beach plums are native to eastern Long Island’s barrier beaches and dunes. They flower in mid-spring, attracting pollinators. Fruiting takes place later in the summer. Both white and pink varieties are available from garden centers and nurseries. ANDREW MESSINGER

The Montauk daisy is actually native to Japan but adapts well to seaside gardens and sand. It seems immune to salt spray but there are a few pruning tricks that keep it tidy and well behaved. It’s easily grown from cuttings rooted in sand. ANDREW MESSINGER "Daisy", is a scultpure by Nova and stands on the grounds of a private collector in Bridgehampton, NY

This seaside goldenrod (Solidago semperviens) grows in pure sand with no tending and blooms in October. ANDREW MESSINGER

The sycamore near the ocean showing the effects of the summer wind, which causes the angular growth pattern. Note the brown foliage that has been desiccated by a recent ocean storm carrying the salt spray three blocks inland. ANDREW MESSINGER