Need wind hardy plant ideas

Hi folks,

My latest guerilla garden is now fully landscaped and ready for planting. We had an idea for a Japanese themed garden, to work in the huge Pampas grass already in one corner, however the Acer and other oriental fern have been battered within an inch of their lives by the wind.

We have moved them and are now looking at other options.

Any suggestions are welcome - we will either plant directly into the ground (Before covering with weed matting and then sand) or use containers.

Thanks guys!

Re: Need wind hardy plant ideas

Reply from Anita Sullivan

Tamarix are totally wind-proof (and coastal). You usually see them in suburban gardens as whispy pink blobs but you can prune them hard, train them laterally or clip them into standard trees. If treated that way they can look very Zen! Also Ginko Horizontalis is a great small-tree alternative to an acer that tolerates sun and wind while giving golden autumn colour and winter structure. (Big Plants Nursery in Sussex has a fine range of Ginkos) XAX

Re: Need wind hardy plant ideas

Reply from Robert Kennett - Garden Designer

How about going for a prairie planting scheme. After all prairie's are well adapted to wind. In fact if you choose some grasses they make best use of the wind by gently billowing and arching adding movement to otherwise static gardens. Try Molinia Windspeil or Stipa tenuissima for starters. Mix the grasses with perennials such as might be found in a meadow e.g. Achillea, Scabious, ox-eye daisies. I have a few shots of a prairie planting scheme I did last year on my website - www.rkgardendesign.co.uk

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