New Zealand Coastal Shelter Planting Design at Brighton, Dunedin

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PAUL ASHFORD LANDSCAPING

Design Portfolio - Gardens & Landscaping

Some completed landscaping plans and planting designs.
I am looking forward to lending my experience to your landscaping project.

Landscaping Plan, Wakari

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Pond planting design

Exotic Pebble Garden

Coastal planting designs

Coastal Shelter Planting

If situated on an exposed coastal site your property may need a long term landscape development plan. The initial stages will involve establishing robust shelter belt planting to reduce the strength of strong coastal winds.

Careful selection of tough New Zealand natives and robust exotic shelter plants will be needed. May plants just simply will not survive these conditions.

Find below some of the plants used in my planting designs around the Dunedin area.

Wind-blasted Kanuka

Coastal shelter using New Zealand native plants:

Exotic shrubs providing good coastal shelter:

Sophora tetraptera
(North Island kowhai)
Small tree growing 5-9m tall. Looks great planted in avenues especially when flowering.

Banksia serrata
(saw Banksia)
From E. Australia populating dry coastal locations. Has a very tough leaves.

Metrosideros excelsa
(NZ Xmas tree, pohutukawa)
A classic coastal tree coping with the harshest salt-laden winds. Large tree, but remains shrubby for years.

Callistemon citrinus
(scarlet bottlebrush)
Also from E. Australia. Will take a fair amount of exposure. The flowers are stunning. To 3m tall.

Corokia cotoneaster
(wire-netting bush, korokio)
A low shrubby plant to 2.5m tolerant of drought and coastal winds. Tangled, wiry branches.

Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary)
Well-known shrubby herb. Will reach 2m tall and works very well as a secondary wind-break.

Corokia macrocarpa
hokataka, whakataka
From the Chatham Islands, this plant copes with anything - drought, sun, salt, wind. Grows 2-4m tall.

What type of plants do well coastally?

First of all look around to see what is growing coastally in your area. Often the best choice are native plants as these have adpated to the local climate.
Salt winds will deposit salt crystals on a plant's leaves. The salt will suck moisture out of leaves as it dries therefore coastal plants need to be able to cope with high levels of transpiration (water-loss through a leaf). Successful coastal plants minimise transpiration in several ways - look out for plants with:

Small leaves - like Coprosma virescens or Olearia odorata

Tough, waxy or shiny leaves - like Myoporum laetum (ngaio) or Coprosma repens (taupata)

Thick succulent leaves - like Disphyma australe (maori ice plant, horokaka)

Silver leaves - like Brachyglottis greyi or Astelia chathamica

Leathery or furry leaves - like Brachyglottis elaeagnifolia (leatherwood) or Pachystegia insignis (Marlborough rock daisy)

Olearia traversii
(Chatham Islands akeake)
Small tree often overlooked and thought dull. Great for coastal exposure plus pretty in flower.

Coprosma repens
(looking glass plant)
Very tough coastal shrub often sculpted by salt winds. Very shiny leaves + orange berries.

Need help planning coastal shelter?

I would love to talk to you about a design for your section. Contact me here, or browse the site to find out more:

• Landscape Planting Design Services
• Photo Planting Plans
• NZ Native Planting

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