Every plant in the Salt-Tolerant Coastal Garden collection is chosen to deliver on salt tolerant coastal plants. Add a few that share your conditions and group them for the strongest effect.
Salt-Tolerant Coastal Garden
Seaside gardens are tough on plants. This salt-tolerant selection laughs off coastal wind and spray to keep looking good by the beach.
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Weeping Bottlebrush · Callistemon viminalis (Sol. ex Gaertn.) G.Don · from $3.95 A fast-growing, tough Australian native with weeping branches and brilliant red bottlebrush flowers — a reliable screening and bird-attracting plant for almost any soil. -
After Dark Peppermint · Agonis flexuosa 'After Dark' A striking small weeping tree with deep burgundy-purple aromatic foliage and tiny white flowers in spring. A dramatic, colourful feature and screen for coastal gardens. -
Agapanthus · Agapanthus praecox Spheres of blue or white flowers on tall stems above strappy clumps — a tough, drought-proof mass-planting staple. Choose sterile forms, as the species can self-seed into bushland. -
Aloe Vera · Aloe vera A clumping rosette of thick fleshy grey-green leaves with toothed margins, filled with the soothing gel long used on burns, and sending up tall spikes of tubular yellow flowers. A practical pot staple. -
Aussie Crawl Fan Flower · Scaevola 'Aussie Crawl' A vigorous prostrate fan flower forming a dense mat covered in mauve-blue fan-shaped flowers through the warmer months. Excellent for groundcover, banks and hanging pots. -
Australian Nut Palm · Cycas media An Australian native cycad forming a palm-like trunk topped with arching glossy fronds, found through Queensland's tropical woodlands. A hardy architectural feature; seeds and foliage are toxic to pets. -
Avonview French Lavender · Lavandula dentata 'Avonview' A vigorous toothed-leaf French lavender flowering for most of the year in mild climates, topped with showy purple bracts. Tough, coastal-tolerant and quick to establish. -
Baxter's Banksia · Banksia baxteri A rounded WA shrub with deeply lobed holly-like leaves and squat lime-yellow flower domes nestled among the foliage. A drought-hardy feature and long-lasting cut flower. -
Bell-fruited Mallee · Eucalyptus preissiana A spreading WA mallee shrub bearing large bright yellow flowers and distinctive bell-shaped gum nuts. A hardy, showy small feature for dry, sandy gardens. -
Big Red Zonal Geranium · Pelargonium x hortorum 'Big Red' Bold ball-shaped heads of vivid scarlet flowers smother this zonal geranium for most of the year over rounded, faintly aromatic leaves. Sun-loving and drought-hardy, perfect for pots; toxic to pets. -
Black Rose Aeonium · Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartkop' A standout cultivar with large rosettes of glossy near-black burgundy leaves on branching stems, the colour deepening in full sun before yellow flower cones appear. A dramatic dark feature plant. -
Blue Chalksticks · Curio talinoides var. mandraliscae A spreading groundcover succulent of upright finger-like blue-grey leaves with a chalky bloom, forming a cool silvery carpet ideal for mass planting and erosion-prone slopes. Tough and water-wise. -
Blue Flax Lily 'Little Jess' · Dianella caerulea 'Little Jess' A compact, clumping strap-leaved flax lily with airy sprays of blue starry flowers followed by glossy purple berries. A tough, low-care mass-planting and border grass for sun or shade. -
Blue Flax-Lily · Dianella caerulea A clumping strappy native with starry blue flowers followed by glossy violet berries that draw birds. Tough, tidy and at home in mass plantings or pots. -
Blue Point Juniper · Juniperus chinensis 'Blue Point' A dense, broadly pyramidal juniper with steely blue-green foliage that holds its shape with little pruning. An excellent blue feature, container plant or informal screen. -
Blue Rug Juniper · Juniperus horizontalis 'Wiltonii' A flat, ground-hugging juniper forming a dense silver-blue carpet that trails attractively over walls and rocks. One of the best conifer groundcovers for slopes, banks and erosion control. -
Bluebell Creeper · Billardiera heterophylla A dainty Western Australian native twiner hung with nodding clusters of bright blue bell flowers through the warmer months, followed by blue berries. Pretty and hardy, but a weed risk outside its native range. -
Bower Vine · Pandorea jasminoides · from $16.95 A vigorous evergreen climber with glossy foliage and large trumpet-shaped pink flowers with deep rose throats through the warmer months. Ideal for covering pergolas, fences and arbours. -
Brodie Pencil Pine · Cupressus sempervirens 'Glauca Brodie' A dense, very narrow Italian cypress selection with consistent blue-green foliage and a tight columnar habit ideal for matched avenue plantings. A reliable formal vertical feature for hot, dry gardens. -
Brunniana Gold · Cupressus macrocarpa 'Brunniana Aurea' A golden-foliaged form of the Monterey cypress forming a broad conical tree of bright lime-gold. Salt-tolerant and vigorous, it makes a glowing windbreak or feature in coastal and temperate gardens. -
Brush Box · Lophostemon confertus A robust evergreen Australian native with a dense rounded canopy of glossy leaves, peeling reddish-brown bark and fluffy white summer flowers. A tough, widely planted street and shade tree. -
Buddhist Pine · Podocarpus macrophyllus A dense, upright conifer with long, soft, dark-green leaves that clips beautifully into formal hedges, columns and topiary. A versatile and shade-tolerant evergreen for screens and containers. -
Butterfly Bush · Gaura lindheimeri Airy wands of white-to-pink flowers dance on wiry stems like a cloud of butterflies for months on end. Drought-proof and self-cleaning, it brings movement to any sunny border. -
Captain Cook Bottlebrush · Callistemon 'Captain Cook' A compact weeping bottlebrush with bright red brushes in spring and summer and attractive pink new growth. A neat screening and feature native for small gardens. -
Cardboard Palm · Zamia furfuracea A compact cycad with low spreading fronds of thick, fuzzy, cardboard-textured leaflets radiating from a short trunk. A tough, drought-hardy feature for pots and coastal gardens; toxic to pets if eaten. -
Cardinal Tea Tree · Leptospermum 'Cardinal' A medium shrub smothered in deep red flowers in spring against fine green foliage. A hardy, bee-attracting feature and informal screen for low-water gardens. -
Cassa Blue Flax Lily · Dianella caerulea 'Cassa Blue' A compact Australian native flax lily with upright blue-grey strappy foliage, sprays of small blue flowers and shiny purple berries. A versatile, hardy choice for borders, mass plantings and pots. -
Century Plant · Agave americana A massive architectural rosette of thick blue-grey leaves armed with sharp spines and a vicious terminal spike, crowned after decades by a towering branched flower stalk. A bold drought-proof sculptural plant. -
Chestnut Dioon · Dioon edule A slow, blue-grey cycad from Mexico forming a stout trunk topped with stiff, gently arching fronds of crowded leaflets. A handsome, drought-tolerant feature for pots and dry gardens; toxic to pets. -
Christmas Cheer Red Hot Poker · Kniphofia 'Christmas Cheer' Bold pokers open orange-red and fade to yellow, glowing through the cooler months when little else flowers. Drought- and coast-hardy, and a rich nectar source for honeyeaters. -
Claret Tops Honey Myrtle · Melaleuca 'Claret Tops' A dense compact melaleuca grown for its claret-red new foliage flushes against fine green leaves. A colourful, hardy low hedge and feature for low-water gardens. -
Coast Banksia · Banksia integrifolia · from $5.50 A hardy coastal tree with dark-green leaves silvery beneath and pale-yellow flower spikes through autumn and winter that feed birds. Exceptionally salt- and wind-tolerant for seaside windbreaks. -
Coast Spear Grass · Austrostipa stipoides A coastal Australian native tussock grass forming dense clumps of wiry green-grey foliage with feathery flowering plumes. Salt- and wind-tolerant, it suits exposed seaside and erosion-prone sites. -
Coastal Cushion Banksia · Banksia integrifolia 'Coastal Cushion' A prostrate cushioning form of coast banksia with white-backed leaves and pale yellow flower spikes. Tough, salt-tolerant and ideal for coastal banks and erosion control. -
Coastal Gem Grevillea · Grevillea 'Coastal Gem' A dense prostrate spreading groundcover with fine green foliage and small pink-red spider flowers through the cooler months. Excellent for banks and coastal gardens. -
Coastal Rosemary · Westringia fruticosa A soft grey-green coastal shrub that clips beautifully into hedges and balls. Salt-proof, drought-proof and flowering most of the year — the native answer to box and lavender. -
Common Correa · Correa reflexa · from $5.50 A versatile small shrub with pendulous red-and-green tubular bells through autumn and winter that supply nectar to honeyeaters when little else flowers. Shade-tolerant and frost-hardy. -
Common Everlasting · Chrysocephalum apiculatum A low, silvery-grey spreading daisy carrying clusters of bright golden button flowers through much of the year. Tough, drought-hardy and excellent for pollinators and dry verges. -
Copper Glow Tea Tree · Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' A medium tea tree grown for its rich copper-bronze foliage and white spring flowers. A colourful, hardy feature and informal screen for low-water gardens. -
Cosmic White Indian Hawthorn · Rhaphiolepis indica 'Cosmic White' A spreading Indian hawthorn with leathery dark leaves and abundant pink-budded white flowers in spring. Tough, drought- and coastal-tolerant, ideal for low hedges and mass planting. -
Creeping Boobialla · Myoporum parvifolium A fast, dense prostrate native that hugs the ground with succulent green foliage and tiny white star flowers in summer. An outstanding weed-suppressing cover for banks and verges. -
Crepe Myrtle · Lagerstroemia indica A reliable summer-flowering tree bearing big crinkled trusses of pink, mauve, red or white bloom for months, with mottled peeling bark and rich autumn tones. A heat-tolerant favourite. -
Cushion Banksia · Banksia spinulosa 'Cushion' A low, spreading dwarf form of the hairpin banksia forming a dense mound studded with gold-and-black flower spikes through the cooler months. A compact bird-attracting groundcover shrub. -
Cut-leaf Banksia · Banksia praemorsa A dense coastal WA shrub with blunt-tipped serrated leaves and large cylindrical flower spikes in wine-red or yellow. An excellent hardy screen and cut flower. -
Drumsticks · Isopogon anemonifolius A compact eastern shrub with finely divided leaves and yellow flower clusters that mature into woody, drumstick-like seed cones. A tough, tidy feature for sandstone gardens. -
Dusky Coral Pea · Kennedia rubicunda A tough, fast Australian native climber and groundcover bearing dusky red pea flowers in spring that attract honeyeaters. Hardy and adaptable, it is excellent for binding banks and quick cover. -
Dwarf Apple · Angophora hispida A gnarled small tree or large shrub of Sydney sandstone with bristly new growth and showy creamy-white summer blossom rich in nectar. A characterful bird-attracting feature. -
Dwarf Lilly Pilly · Syzygium smithii 'Minor' A compact lilly pilly with flushes of coppery new growth, fluffy white flowers and edible mauve berries. A versatile, hardy hedge and screen for most gardens. -
Dwarf Mock Orange · Pittosporum tobira 'Miss Muffet' A naturally compact, dome-shaped form of Japanese mock orange with whorls of leathery dark green leaves. Clusters of creamy flowers carry a rich orange-blossom scent in spring; excellent coastal low hedge. -
Dwarf River Wattle · Acacia cognata A compact, weeping wattle grown for its fountain of fine lime-green foliage rather than its flowers — a soft, mounding feature for pots, borders and low screens. -
Edward Goucher Abelia · Abelia x grandiflora 'Edward Goucher' An arching, semi-evergreen abelia smothered in lilac-pink trumpet flowers from summer into autumn, much loved by bees. Hardy, adaptable and good for informal hedges. -
Elephant Bush · Portulacaria afra A bushy succulent with reddish-brown stems and small round glossy green leaves, edible and tangy, favoured for bonsai and hedging in warm climates and grazed by elephants in its native South Africa. -
Endeavour Bottlebrush · Callistemon 'Endeavour' An upright medium bottlebrush bearing large vivid red brushes through spring and summer. A robust, bird-attracting screen and feature shrub. -
English Lavender · Lavandula angustifolia Silvery, fragrant and alive with bees all summer — the classic low hedge for a sunny, free-draining spot. Cut the flowers for drying or the kitchen. -
Escallonia · Escallonia 'Apple Blossom' A glossy-leaved evergreen covered in dainty pink-and-white apple-blossom flowers through the warmer months. Wind- and salt-tolerant, it makes an excellent flowering coastal hedge. -
Eve Price Laurustinus · Viburnum tinus 'Eve Price' A compact, dense laurustinus with deep pink buds opening to white winter flowers, followed by metallic-blue berries. An RHS Award of Garden Merit shrub making a reliable, drought-tolerant evergreen hedge for sun or shade. -
Fairy Fan-flower · Scaevola aemula 'Purple Fanfare' A spreading native groundcover smothered in fan-shaped mauve-purple flowers from spring through autumn. A fast, hardy carpet and trailing container plant for sun. -
Feijoa · Acca sellowiana Striking red-and-white edible flowers, then aromatic autumn fruit tasting of pineapple and mint. Tough, salt-tolerant and quick to clip into a productive evergreen hedge. -
Firesticks · Euphorbia tirucalli A striking succulent of slender pencil-thin branching stems that blaze coral-orange to fiery red in cool sunny weather, carrying a highly caustic milky sap. A bold drought-proof feature to handle with care. -
Firewood Banksia · Banksia menziesii A WA banksia with zigzag pinkish new growth and large acorn-shaped flower spikes in shades of pink, red and gold. A striking bird-attracting feature and cut flower.