Coastlines create spectacular environments for plants. There are rocky, craggy cliffs, sandy dunes, and wet areas where rivers meet the sea. Your oceanside garden has unique characteristics that create mirror ecosystems matching these natural environments. Plant species that prefer these conditions for less gardening care and maintenance.
Native coastal plants are excellent choices, as they evolved to grow along the sea. They typically have a strong salt tolerance in the air and dirt, and their roots tolerate sandy, well-drained soil. Tropical, subtropical, and island species are also great options for warm winter zones.
If your coastal garden is dry and sandy with some distance from the sea, grasses are an excellent choice for you. Some thrive in wet or dry soil and sprout perennially despite harsh growing conditions. Mix and match oceanside-loving vines, palms, trees, and perennials for an ornamental garden bursting with foliage and wildflowers.
Let’s get started with palms as specimen plantings. They typically grow as tall as trees, although young seedlings take years to reach over 20 feet. We’ll tour trees and shrubs, then perennials, and grasses at the end. Discover 31 stunning plants to bolster biodiversity in your coastal garden.
Lady Palm
Lady palms grace any landscape they grow in with green cut-leaf fronds. They’re rhizomatous, meaning they spread underground with strong roots. When happy, these roots send up four to twelve feet tall stems with palm fronds at the end.
You’ll find lady palms in interior landscapes throughout the world. They’re excellent houseplants in bright, indirect light. Outdoors, they appreciate warm temperatures above 50°F (10°C) year-round. They naturally grow in China and Vietnam beneath taller trees with dense canopies, so they’ll need partial or full shade in your backyard or patio.
Windmill Palm
A cold-hardy species for East and West Coast gardeners, windmill palms tolerate winter frost, sea salt, and sandy soils. They’re a perfect specimen for a tropical look in a temperate zone.
Windmill palms originate from China where they reach 40 feet tall at maturity! In temperate North American zones 7 through 11, they’ll top out between 10 to 20 feet.
Windmill palms love sunshine, water, and well-draining soil. They tolerate salty sea spray from nearby oceans, but their leaves tear under strong winds. Plant them behind a barrier or windbreak to preserve their large fan leaf shapes. The damage won’t hurt the palms, so you can situate them in windy sites if you need to.
Coconut Palm
Coconut palms are ideal plants for warm coastal zones. They sprout large flower clusters that attract pollinators, and their female flowers mature into brown, husky coconuts. Harvest their meat or water to make coconut oil, milk, flakes, powder, and flour.
Coconut palms are behemoths, reaching 50 to 100 feet tall when mature. They thrive with humidity, sandy soils, and over six hours of direct sunlight. Coconut palms grow in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and south Texas, although they may struggle in Southern California’s dry, hot summers.
Pacific Wax Myrtle
Pacific wax myrtle grows wild throughout the West Coast, from California north through the Pacific Northwest. It forms multi-stem trees or dense, tall bushes. Since it’s native to North America, it needs little care in its native range. Simply plant it where it has access to well-drained soil, three to eight hours of direct sunlight, and sea spray.
Pacific wax myrtle shrubs are cold-hardy in the winter and drought-tolerant throughout the summer. They also make excellent hedge plants and take to sheering well. East Coast growers should try their native species northern bayberry, or Myrica pensylvanica.
Plumeria
Plumeria trees add tropical charm to coastal gardens. They’re deciduous or evergreen trees with large green leaves, fragrant multi-color flowers, and thick stems. They’re native to the tropical Americas in dry, hot regions. For this reason, they’ll thrive in Southern California, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Florida along coastlines.
Many unique plumeria cultivars exist with various fragrances and flower colors. Try ‘Candy Stripe’ for yellow, pink, and white petals, or Plumeria stenopetala for lacey, white petals that look like spiders. If you live below hardiness zone 10, grow plumeria trees in pots on your balcony or patio for the summer and overwinter them indoors under bright light.
Oleander
Oleander shrubs add color and greenery to highways throughout California. They’re a common landscaping shrub as they survive long periods of drought in poor soils.
Flowers range from pink to white to red. Although native to Europe and Asia, oleanders thrive on other continents from hardiness zones 8 through 10.
Oleanders tolerate sea salt spray and sandy soils, making them ideal candidates for oceanside gardens. They may grow a bit rangy when left on their own; prune them after they flower to shape them as you wish. Oleanders are poisonous and may cause contact skin rashes. Wear gloves while pruning them to keep your skin safe.
Tree Aloe
Extra space in your garden means you have plenty of plant options. Tree aloe is one striking specimen for warm coastlines.
It grows thick trunks with gray bark and green, fleshy aloe leaves off the branch tips. Pink-red flowers sprout out the foliage rosettes in late winter through early spring, luring pollinators into the space with tasty nectar and pollen.
Tree aloes reach well over 30 feet in maturity and need space to spread their branches. After your tree establishes itself, plant shade-tolerant coastal plants around the trunk to make a pleasing design.
Rose Mallow
Rose mallow excels where tropical hibiscus suffers. Hibiscus moscheutos (rose mallow) is native to the eastern U.S. in wet, boggy sites. Specimens bloom large pink or white blossoms with red centers that attract bees, birds, and butterflies. Grow a rose mallow or two, and you’ll exponentially increase biodiversity in your backyard.
This hibiscus relative prefers consistently moist soils throughout the year. Water its soil when drought is forecast, and use an organic mulch-like compost to conserve soil moisture. Rose mallow tolerates salty air and dirt, although it doesn’t do well with strong winds. Plant it behind a windbreak or fence for extra protection.
Island Bush Snapdragon
Island bush snapdragon has quite the name, and for good reasons! This low-growing shrub sprouts bright red snapdragon-like flowers that lure hummingbirds, butterflies, and pollinating insects to the site. It’s native to the Channel Islands but thrives throughout coastal gardens in zones 9 through 11.
Island bush snapdragon needs well-drained soil and little water to survive. It uses moist ocean air to stay cool amidst intense sunlight. Grow a few in containers on a balcony or patio, or plant them in your borders and beds. ‘Firecracker’ is a reliable nursery variety with deep red blooms year-round.
Japanese Aralia
Japanese aralia is a longtime favorite of North American gardeners—it’s drought and wet-soil tolerant, loves shady conditions, and tolerates some salty sea spray. Single plants sprout multiple stems that grow giant leaves on their ends. In late winter through early spring, your shrub will bloom dozens of white aralia-like flowers that honeybees and bumblebees devour.
Japanese aralia thrives in garden beds, containers, and large pots. Container plants add structure and texture to balconies, porches, and patios with lush leaves and slender stems.
Rosemary
A Mediterranean native shrub, rosemary appreciates the sunny coastlines in the southeastern and western United States. Thin, needle-like foliage forms off woody stems, and purple blooms follow in spring. The foliage and flowers smell savory and herbal, adding a unique flavor to mashed potatoes, beans, and roasts.
Give your rosemary shrubs six to eight hours of direct sunlight, well-draining soil, and lots of organic matter as mulch. Rosemary appreciates a yearly helping of compost around its base for nutrients, air, and moisture conservation.
Bird Of Paradise
A classic in warm, tropical, or temperate gardens, the bird of paradise is an evergreen shrub with strappy palm-like foliage and flowers that resemble colorful birds. They’re orange, blue, and white, filled with sweet nectar and pollen.
Bird of paradise sprouts grow from rhizomatous roots below ground. Outdoors, they’ll creep outward to form three to four feet wide clumps.
Grow them in a container or raised bed to limit their spread. When winter arrives below zone ten, you can move potted bird of paradise plants indoors in bright indirect light until spring returns.
Oleaster
Oleaster is a relative of the invasive non-native Russian olive tree, but it behaves well in the landscape without spreading into local environments. It may reach eight to ten feet tall but takes pruning well after flowering. Use it for hedges, as a specimen tree, or as a backdrop for low-growing perennials and annuals.
Oleaster loves sandy or gritty soil, as it thrives when water flows freely through its roots. Wet or boggy soils may lead to root rot—try a swamp-loving shrub-like rose mallow instead if your garden is consistently wet. Oleaster excels in spots similar to oleander, island bush snapdragon, and rosemary.
Four-Wing Saltbush
Four-wing saltbush is one of the hardiest plants on this list. It grows wild from Canada to Mexico, from the Missouri River to the Pacific Coast. Four-wing saltbush plants are dense shrubs with thin, wiry stems and tough, gray-green leaves. If you live in the immediate view of the coastline and have free-draining sandy soils, this may be the shrub for you.
Four-wing saltbush is salt tolerant, accepting excess salts in sea spray and the soil. Avoid overwatering this shrub, and leave it be during the growing season. It thrives amidst heat, drought, and intense storms from hardiness zones 5 through 9.
Gullfeed
Gullfeed excels close to coastlines in sandy soils. It’s a low-growing shrub with free-rooting stems that sprout when they touch the soil. White fragrant flowers emerge throughout the year on mature specimens. They form black fruits with seeds that spread seedlings by floating them in ocean water to new coastlines.
Gullfeed is a close relative of beach naupaka, a Hawaiian native plant. Grow gullfeed in California or the southeastern U.S., as beach naupaka may be invasive in these areas.
Hardy Ice Plant
Hardy ice plant spreads low to the ground with thick, succulent leaves. It’s more cold hardy than most other succulent species, surviving throughout hardiness zones 6 through 10. Give your plants porous soil and some extra water during droughts, and they’ll quickly blanket bare dirt.
Hardy ice plants sprout purple flowers as warm summer temperatures arrive. Once these groundcovers establish themselves, they’re exceptionally tolerant of drought, salty sea spray, and intense heat. They struggle in wet areas with poor drainage, so amend these spots with perlite, vermiculite, or compost before transplanting for best results.
Kalanchoe
The common florists’ flower kalanchoe also makes a superb coastal ornamental shrub! There are dozens of varieties available with red, pink, yellow, and orange flowers. Most types have succulent green leaves and fleshy stems that propagate in water easily. If you live below zone ten, kalanchoe works as a drought-tolerant houseplant throughout the winter.
Kalanchoe shrubs are salt, drought, and heat tolerant, although they appreciate a good soaking when their soil dries completely. They don’t do well in areas with frosty winters, so take them inside with containers or propagate cuttings to have plants for the next year.
Chilean Sea Fig
Chilean sea fig occurs throughout Oregon, California, and Mexico coastlines. Its origin is unknown; many scientists hypothesize it evolved in South America, and people on traveling ships introduced it to North America, while others believe it’s native to both South and North America. Grow this succulent spreader in a container if you’re worried about it roaming outside your garden, and eat sea fig fruits before they sow seeds. It’s highly invasive in California.
Chilean sea fig needs free draining soil with lots of sunshine for at least six to eight hours. They may experience root rot in exceptionally wet soils—use sand in the dirt to ensure water drains well and doesn’t sit around the roots.
Broadleaf Stonecrop
Broadleaf stonecrop is a native stonecrop originating on the West Coast. White-blue succulent leaves sprout in rosettes off woody, trailing stems.
A single plant stays short but spreads a little wider annually. Yellow flowers bloom on short stalks from spring through summer, inviting bees, beetles, and pollinating flies into your yard.
Broadleaf stonecrop appreciates free-draining soil, low water, and regular sunshine in its native range. Mimic these conditions in your coastal garden, and your succulents will thrive with little extra amendments or care.
Passion Vine
Passion vine rambles about, clinging to any surface it can climb on. This groundcover or tall vine is native to the southern U.S., where it clambers about in forests, empty lots, and gardens. This vine can be aggressive, so give it lots of room to grow.
Vines sprout large purple-white flowers that drive bees crazy with pollen and nectar. After successful pollination, the flowers morph into green fruits with sweet-tart flesh.
Passion vine tolerates colder temperatures than passion fruit vines, growing successfully from zones 5 through 9. Give your plants extra compost as mulch annually to preserve soil moisture during summer droughts. Passion vines grow woody in warm winter zones but die to the ground at first frost. They’ll sprout anew with warm spring weather.
Beach Strawberry
Beach strawberries cling to sandy soils with runners that sprout new plants. They’ll quickly cover bare, sandy soils with dozens of tri-lobed leaves and white-yellow flowers.
The flowers sometimes form small, red, seedy fruits that birds and squirrels love to snack on. Grow this plant for its ornamental value rather than edible strawberries, as there are other species like Fragaria alpina with more delicious tasting fruits.
Beach strawberries grow indefinitely, meaning a colony will establish itself and continue spreading. Use them for erosion control, hillsides, and coastal dunes with harsh conditions.
Pineapple
Grow pineapples in warm coastal gardens! This bromeliad plant sprouts bright red and purple flowers that mature into knobby pineapples with yellow, sweet flesh inside. They need warm temperatures year-round to produce sufficient fruit and will work along coastlines from zones 10 through 12.
Pineapples appreciate sandy, free-draining soil and they tolerate occasional droughts in these conditions. They need six to eight hours of daily sunlight to produce juicy, sweet pineapples.
They’ll grow in partial shade but may not flower or fruit properly. Use them as ornamentals, or grow them with lots of sunlight for their edible fruit.
Beach Aster
Beach asters resemble other aster varieties with purple-yellow blooms, green daisy-like foliage, and short stature. They bloom prolifically from spring to fall and attract bees, bugs, and butterflies to your seaside garden. Differentiate this aster from others by noticing their short, squat purple flower petals.
Beach asters are native to the Pacific Northwest along coastlines. They tolerate short droughts and put down strong roots when they have free-draining, fertile soil. Grow it alongside native Douglas aster for short and tall aster-like blooms throughout the growing season.
Neoregelia
These bromeliads are fleshy perennials with thick leaves. They form cup shapes with their foliage, trapping rainwater to drink when thirsty. Grow them in warm coastal gardens from zones 10 through 11. Neoregelia needs fertile, porous soil rich with organic matter and occasional watering when the soil dries.
Dozens of neoregelia varieties exist for you to choose from, with various leaf shades of green, yellow, and purple. Try ‘Fireball’ for green leaves lined with red or ‘Treasure Chest’ for red leaves with yellow speckles. You can’t go wrong with plain green, and Neoregelia schultesiana delivers with long, thin light-green leaves.
Blue Puya
Blue puya is a tall drought-tolerant perennial originating from Chile. It’s a cold hardy bromeliad relative with impressive flower spikes.
They reach four to six feet tall and have green-red flowers with long, spear-shaped branch ends protruding out of them. The leaves are rough with spines on their tips, making blue puya a specimen plant to enjoy looking at but not touching.
While blue puya is frost-hardy down to zone 8, it appreciates some protection from winter elements. Add small gravel pieces or rocks on top of the root zone to facilitate drainage. Wet winter weather threatens your plant’s survival, but it affects them less when they have good drainage.
American Beachgrass
When other plants struggle to put down roots in your sandy, coastal garden, grasses help. They tolerate salty floods, sea spray, and drought without extra maintenance. American beachgrass is one of the hardiest coastal grasses alive, thriving along the Atlantic coastline despite freezing winters.
American beachgrass sprouts thick rhizomes beneath the sand that spread up and out. As dunes pile sand on the leaves, they extend their rhizomes and sprout new leaves. The old stems sprout roots, further strengthening the colony.
Incredibly hardy, American beachgrass will spread readily in sandy, sunny sites. Limit their spread by planting them in containers, or let them spread freely and add a natural beachy look to your garden.
Sea Oats
Sea oats, like American beachgrass, are hardy native grasses from the Atlantic coastline. They sprout thick rhizomes deep into the soil that anchor them despite flooding.
Sea oats tolerate drought with intense sunlight, and harsh, salty sea spray. However, they don’t tolerate foot traffic very well, making them a better candidate for pollinator or natural-style plantings away from pathways.
Sea oats survive temperatures as low as 0-5°F (-18 to -15°C), although they stop growing under cool climates. They’ll sprout new, four to six-foot-long grass leaves in spring. Mature clumps sprout flowers on long stems that mature into oat-like grass seeds. Sow them to multiply your sea oat collection!
Common Rush
Rush is a lovely native grass-like plant for seaside gardens, with cylindrical gray-green leaves and fluffy brown seed heads. It thrives in wet, boggy soils; find it growing naturally where rivers meet the ocean, or in swamps, bogs, and marshes. Rush spreads readily through seeds and underground roots, filling bare, moist soil.
Rush works well for erosion control on both sides of North America, as its roots hold onto dirt particles despite flooding or heavy rains. It tolerates short droughts but needs consistently moist soil to thrive. Rush has a huge range, surviving cold winters in zones 1 to 11.
Slough Sedge
Slough sedge is a West Coast native plant with native resources that increase biodiversity. Their flowers are full of pollen for pollinating insects, and their seeds feed small birds and mammals. This sedge sprouts from thick rhizomatous stems that creep outward annually.
If you need to cover bare soil quickly along the Pacific Coast, slough sedge is a fantastic solution. It’ll sprout new leafy stems a few feet away from the main clump, creating dense stands of grassy foliage. Slough sedge appreciates consistently moist soil and tolerates occasional seawater flooding.
This plant is considered vulnerable to critically imperiled in the United States, according to Nature Serve. Therefore, growing it in ecosystems where it is considered native is a huge contribution to the surrounding ecosystem.
Mexican Feather Grass
Mexican feather grass sprouts lacier foliage than most other grasses, and it stays low to the ground. It thrives amongst other coastal perennials in borders, containers, and raised beds. This southern U.S. native grass appreciates well-draining soils common along oceanside gardens.
Once your grasses are thriving, they’ll sprout flowers, then seeds that allow them to sprout in new areas. Pull up seedlings and add them to the compost, or let them naturalize throughout your backyard. Mexican feather grass looks stunning en masse with other coastal favorites like gullfeed or hardy ice plant.
Cape Rush
Cape rush sprouts cylindrical stems similar to common rush, although they’re darker green. The shoots are like mini bamboo stems sprouting from a central clump, with joints like horsetail plants. And like horsetail plants, this plant is highly invasive in various states, including California.
Cape rush appreciates moist soils but tolerates occasional drought after establishing itself. It’s native to South Africa, where it experiences hot, dry weather.
Grow cape rush in a design, or mass them in clumps for a big visual impact. This evergreen perennial is frost-hardy to 20°F (-7°C) and requires protection if night temperatures drop below that. Use mulch or frost cloth around its base to keep it warm on a cold night.
