CHAPTER XXVII 

 SEASIDE PLANTING. 



THE moderating influence that the sea has upon temperature and the 

 greater degree of humidity it imparts to the atmosphere are, on the whole, 

 favourable to vegetation. This is very evident all round the coasts of 

 the British Isles, even on the east coast, where, in sheltered valleys, trees 

 and shrubs can be grown that are too tender for similar positions inland. 

 On the western and southern coasts, where the influence of the Gulf 

 Stream is more directly felt, this phenomenon becomes much more 

 evident, and a vegetation of an almost subtropical character is supported. 

 There is no point, therefore, in the long lists usually given in books and 

 articles on this subject, made up of trees and shrubs that are known to 

 thrive in the vicinity of the sea, provided they are not actually exposed to 

 the full force of sea gales. Such lists might be extended so as to include 

 almost all the subjects dealt with in this work. 



The one problem in seaside planting is to find trees and shrubs 

 that will withstand the full blast from the sea, carrying, as it does, more 

 or less salt-laden moisture with it. Once a rampart of such vegetation 

 has been made of sufficient width and height to stand between the 

 garden and the sea, the rest becomes comparatively easy. The clothing 

 of exposed headlands must, of course, always be difficult, just as is that 

 of windswept elevations inland, the only difference being that, near the 

 sea, the additional drawback of salt in the atmosphere has to be 

 encountered. 



In planting absolutely naked ground in such places it saves much 

 time and trouble if some, perhaps only temporary, windguard be set up 

 to start with ; it may be a low wall, a bank of earth, or even wattled 

 hurdles. Behind this the first plantings are made, and it need hardly 

 be said that small plants only must be set out, and they must stand 

 thickly together for mutual protection. By this means they are enabled 

 to get a firm hold of the soil before they reach above their shelter. When 

 that happens their growth may be very slow indeed, but each successive 

 row grows higher than the one in front of it, so that ultimately there is 

 formed a bank of vegetation sloping upwards from the sea, which makes 

 an admirable first line of defence. 



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