COLUMNIST: KATIE REYNOLDS
A coastal garden in Scotland certainly has a lot to contend with, coping with the high winds, salty air, and often poor quality soil. It is, though, also an amazing opportunity to create the most beautiful outdoor space that celebrates its stunning surroundings.
The first thing to remember when designing a coastal garden is to make the most of its location: the sea or coastal setting is the star of the show and your garden should be complementing it rather than trying to outshine it.
The big skies, rugged landscape, and natural curved formations can all be brought into the garden so you are connected to the broader landscape for a cohesive feel. Be inspired by the sea, the beach, the dunes, the cliff, or whichever aspect of the coast you can see from your garden.
Borrowing the wider coastal views and blurring the boundaries of your garden will mean that your outdoor space will appear bigger, and will also seamlessly flow into the larger context of its setting.
Opting for curves in the layout of the flower beds, paths, or lawns is recommended in a coastal setting. Just as the coastline, the coastal path, or the seashore gently undulates, your garden should mirror the natural form of the landscape.
Take inspiration from the coast in terms of the materials that are introduced into the garden. Gravel, small pebbles, or crushed shells all work well on paths or as a mulch, and wood is a good choice for seating, decking, raised beds, or low walls. A heavy duty rope rail is a nice nautical touch if you have steps. And stone - preferably sourced locally to connect to your landscape - can be used as edging or retaining walls, or larger boulders for informal seating or natural sculptural interest.
Be mindful of maintenance when choosing materials, metals will quickly rust in the salty air and anything painted will need repainting more often than it would in an inland setting.
The planting needs to be able to cope with windy, salty air, the dry conditions, and the chilly Scottish temperatures. A layered approach to planting will help create a shelter belt to protect the garden from the wind as much as possible, so incorporating larger shrubs, small trees, or a hedge is highly recommended - or all three if space allows.
Sandy soil has its advantages in being free draining and having better aeration than heavy clay, but it can also be of poor quality. Mixing in compost and applying an annual mulch will help to enrich the soil, and raised beds are another solution for improving the retention of nutrients.
Generally speaking plants that have small leathery or strappy leaves are more tolerant of a coastal setting. For shrubs Pyracantha (firethorn), Phormium (New Zealand Flax), Escallonia, and Pinus mugo (dwarf mountain pine) are all good options. Salvia (sage), Achillea millefolium (yarrow), Foeniculum vulgare (fennel), Eryngium (sea holly) will do well, and for ground cover Armeria maritima (sea thrift), Stachys byzantina (lamb’s ears), or a low growing Sedum (stone crop) are great options.
Ornamental grasses are also an excellent choice as they connect to the wider landscape, especially if you have headlands or dunes in sight of your garden. They provide year round interest and their movement in the wind adds another dimension to the space.
I prefer to use a planting colour palette that is a natural extension of the coastal setting, so silvers, whites, purples, and then a few pops of hotter colour to add some vibrancy to the scheme such as the deep oranges and reds of Kniphofia or Crocosmia.
These are a few ideas to inspire you in thinking about designing a coastal garden. Embrace your seaside setting with its naturally weathered charm, relaxed feel, and looser form, and let this set the tone within your own garden.
Katie Reynolds Design is a garden and interior design studio for residential and commercial clients in Aberdeenshire and across the North East.
Katie works on a range of projects from city flats to country houses, public gardens to coastal properties. Follow Katie on Instagram and Facebook, visit www.katiereynoldsdesign.co.uk to browse some of her recent projects, or pick up her top garden design secrets on the Scotland Grows Show.