Winglewich's Top 10 Plants For Beach Houses!

Ask a non-Californian a place they associate California with. They'll probably name-drop Los Angeles, or The Golden Gate, or CA Route One.

Notice a theme? They're all near the beach.

Beaches are as californian as surfing or In-N-Out burgers. Heck, The Beach Boys and surf-rock dominated the 60s, most songs referencing or gleaning inspiration from the beaches of California.

.And if you're trying to turn that beach-bum bungalow into a picturesque hideaway that would make even the stingiest AirBnB'er fork out hundreds, I suggest you start in the landscape.

Here are a few plants I like to recommend for landscape installs on the beach.

10) Euryops chrysanthemoides (African Bush Daisy)

This big cloud of emerald and gold is tough as nails. The one thing that will lead an African Bush Daisy to suffer is cold snaps, which, as a rule, the beach is (usually) exempt from. Thanks to the marine layer, the beach almost never gets cold enough to freeze, and doesn't become an oven like the inland areas. Expect 40-80 degree temps year-round.

African Bush Daisies grow to about 6 feet tall/high max, hang onto their golden yellow blooms longer than most plants, and live relatively long lives, although they get pretty twisted and gnarled in their old age (Some clients are very fond of this. Your opinion may vary.) Well drained, yet consistantly moist soils tend to yield the best results, and while it tolerates very sandy soils, it loves clay loam.

9) Erigeron Karvinskianus (Fleabane Daisy)

The good news: it grows everywhere. The bad news: it grows everywhere.

Seriously, if you have a little wind and moisture, your garden can get overrun by these. But it's an invasion I welcome. Imagine a year-round lump of dainty, yet enduring white, yellow, and pink flowers the size of your fingernail growing in 1 foot tall, 3 foot wide clumps all over the cracks of your rock walls, spilling over planters, filling in gaps between shrubs, and softening up all those rough hardscape edges. That's the Fleabane Daisy, and it thrives in temperate, moist coastal climates. They're not aggressive, simply prolific.

8) Salvia Leucophyllia (Purple Sage)

Back when gold was in the hills and railroads were king, Ice plant (Carpobrotus Erdulis) was introduced to stabilize railroad embankments. It worked-albeit too well. This greenish-red succulent relative went on a tear along the California coastline, choking out every competing species with its advantageous webs of roots and stunning flowers. It's in bad taste to plant it now. However, the advantages to a prolific carpet of purple and green are hard to ignore. It crowds out weeds, looks neat, and sandy soils under the plant succumb less to erosion by oceanic winds and heavy rains.

Purple Sage is my recommended Ice plant substitute. It possesses key characteristics of ice plant (soil stabilization, very low maintenance, covers lots of ground). It spreads, but not quickly, and has a softer, more approachable vibe than the chunky, domineering iceplant tendrils. Nutrient poor soil means absolutely nothing to this hearty little fellow, and you will very likely see it growing wild in absolutely stark places, standing out amongst dead grasses and coyote bush with its signature, erect stalks of deep purple.

7) Echium Candicans (Pride Of Madeira)

Speaking of erect stalks of deep purple, here's the Purple Stage on steroids.

There is not one coastal town in this great state which you can drive through and NOT see a Pride Of Madeira bush. Greyish, fuzzy foliage towers to ten feet tall and ten feet wide in the right conditions. Each Pride Of Madeira is like a snowflake; no two look the same. Some take on the appearance of dwarf trees, others neat little balls chock full of foliage. Additionally, keep an eye out for giant funky fan-shaped appendages. They are rare and enchanting.

Expect giant, phallic clusters of deep purple shooting into the June and July sky. Of course, these shrivel up and turn black when they go to seed, and many gardeners choose to deadhead, or remove them, at this point. These black seeds, which get stuck to even the poly'est of blends, reliably propagate new plants if left in even a semi-fertile patch of coastal soil. This is an important part of their short lives - if one lasts five years, it's an extremely old plant. Maintenance will be needed to trim the dead buds and remove old, dead bushes to make room for the new generations, but take care - I find the fuzzy leaves to be a bit itchy if I brush against them with bare arms.

6) Literally Any Succulent, But Especially Crassula Ovata (Jade)

A Jade Plant is the lazy gardener's dream. Not only does it grow slow and adore sandy, nutrient devoid soil, but it prunes itself. That's right - and you're more likely to damage it by trying to coddle it and tend to it too much. Don't try to make it a bonsai - it will do this on its own.

Jade Plants are succulents. I'm no succulent expert, I just think they're neat, and deserve a home in any listicle regarding western gardening. This is one of the larger succulents, with twisted, papery stems and bulbous variegated leaflets. The act of self-pruning is a delightful and calculated act on the plant's part to promote air circulation and reduce the chances of it getting overweight and suffering a massive split or break. (My client's fruit trees should take some lessons from the Jade Plant.)

Jade tolerates small pots just as eagerly as wide open spaces, so long as they are not disturbed or handled roughly.

Also, FYI, almost any succulent will thrive on the coast. When in doubt, succulent out.

5) Washingtonia filifera (California Fan Palm)

Sandy soil, moist air, and a low chance of freezing gives the palm tree an ideal habitat. Many palms would be a great #5 choice, but the winner to me is the only California native palm - the California Fan Palm.

The California Fan Palm isn't for everyone. If you want a tall tree with a moderate water consumption and beautiful, fuss-free fronds, this is your dream. If you want small palms, stay away. Yes, you may have to water it until the roots dive deep and long enough to tap into water, and yes, it may drop a big brown frond occasionally. These are part and parcel of palm ownership, but most people would accept these drawbacks for the iconic look of a palm on the seashores of the golden coast.

4) Artemisa "Powis Castle"

This cult favorite is greyish-blue, mounding, and as soft looking as it is adaptable. To me, Powis Castle Artemisa is a smart landscaper's "Go-To" for modest, muted, low-growing shrubs. Yes, Crassula, Sage, and Palms are aggressive, unique, eye catching, but just like every loud and rowdy friend group needs the quiet, sensible voice of reason, a good beach landscape needs uniform, low growing, mounding plants. Place it in empty spots, hide a foundation line or valve box, or surround a tall palm or light post with them. As long as the soil is well-drained, the Powis Castle endures.

3) Pinus Mugo (Dwarf Mugo Pine)

In the 70's, Juniper - a lush,shaggy, green shrub, capable of growing large or being kept sheared and small, took California by storm. Junipers required low amounts of water, needed little care, and grew almost anywhere. They lived long, looked great, and...caught on fire. A lot. For this reason, along with changing ideas of what makes a landscape great, the Juniper is a liability.

If you desire a long lived lump of green at your coastal property, let me introduce you to the Dwarf Mugo Pine. They grow to about 8 feet tall and wide, tolerate a broad spectrum of soils and weather conditions, and can be pruned just about any way you like. Keep it high and tight, let it bush out, or train it into a bonsai. Anything goes.

Winds blowing in from the sea are typically clean and don't typically carry hosts of syndromes, beetles, or viruses if you're close to the ocean. You'll still get a borer or canker occasionally, but less than inland. Water it deeply and occasionally, prune it if you like, and enjoy the peace of mind of not owning a hyper-combustible bush.

2) Callestemon Spp. (Bottlebrush)

An australian native, this rugged, reddish-green survivor will make a bold statement in the beachside landscape. Bottlebrush, variety dependent, can look weepy or sturdy, like a small tree, a big bush, or a knee-high shrub. The flowers are quirky and needle-like, the stems and trunks remind me of manzanitas or madrones, and the leaves are pointy and irregular. A very showy and stunning offering to occupy any space you see fit.

Make sure they aren't planted in a bog (mounds and hills are best) plant them in the sun, mix up a little compost amendment when planted, and the bottlebrush is content.

Pruning is best when minimal. A hacked up bottlebrush is an ugly thing - give it space to grow to its full potential. I'm a fan of Bottlebrush against south facing walls, fences, and buildings. They can hide garbage cans, backflows, HVAC units, and add pizzazz to any space without adding too much leaf litter or maintenance concerns. Water occasionally but thoroughly.

1) Baumea Rubignosa v.Varigata (Striped Rush) or Juncus Patens (Horsetail Rush)

Here's a marshy, beach-y, aquatic looking native grass which gets criminally overlooked by all but the most prudent local designers. Despite resembling an exotic bamboo, it's a grass!

Dry soils? Sure. Boggy marshes? Absolutely. Lots of shade? Can Do. No shade? No problem. Buy a tiny one; let it acclimate.

Striped Rush grows about 2 feet in diameter and five feet tall. However, there's a glorious specimen in the front yard of a property in Salmon Creek i have maintained for years, and it's a whopping four feet wide and eight feet tall. And it grows in pure sand and gets whipped by winds around the clock.

The Striped Rush is a native, with a radical appearance. It will seperate your landscape from all the cookie-cutter assemblies of mediocrity that dot your neighborhood, while simultaneously looking exotic without a bit of cliche. And it will thrive wherever you put it. For this reason, the Striped Rush is my number one pick for beach houses.

Juncus Patens (Mat Rush) is a non native alternative. Occasionally (actually, well more than on one occasion) I couldn't get striped rush affordably, or for that matter at all, at a nursery. In the post-covid economy, the Juncus Patens was a superb stand-in. Mat Rushes want a little more sun, and aren't quite as tolerant of extreme dry or extreme wet, but they're still going to hold up disproportionately better than most plants will in coastal climates. They look incredibly similar - but If you desire a more reed-y look, you're going to like the Mat Rush better.

Dishonorable Mention: Cortadeira selloana (Pampas)

Yuck. If plant jail existed, these should be in it. Throw away the key.

These love coastal climates, to the point where they seed themselves all over the rocky hills and sandy pits of the California Coastline. They became popular as screening plants 50-70yrs ago - They look like jumbo-size fountain grass, I completely understand the appeal. But they like it too much. They're invasive as hell! Not only do they crowd out delicate natives, but they also seem predisposed to growing as close as possible to roadsides and creating hazardous blind spots and terrifying experiences when trying to pull out of certain parking areas and drives. You need mega machines to properly remove them, and even if you pull one out, they will dump their enormous tufts of seeds and two more will return. It's the Medusa's Head of coastal garden cleanup. Please don't buy or tolerate them.

Coastal gardening comes with its own set of challenges and rewards. There are hundreds of good choices aside from these - but when I think of a home by the beach, these always come to the front of my mind.

If you need help installing, caring for, or planning a coastal landscape, we are here for you!

winglewichsam@gmail.com

707-755-0612.

If I don't respond, I'm probably trying to destroy a 14 foot wide clump of Pampas Grass.