Xtra News Community 2

Ive decided Im going to buy some bouganvilleas (sp) for out at the beach - is anyone growing one?
I need something thats hardy.

I bought some daffodil bulbs today, about 30 of them  ;) they are going out to the beach too.

Hi Lovelee we have Scarlett O Hara in our garden but of course it is not at the beach but they do say it is quite hardy compared to other Bougainvillas. have a look at this link, it may help you.

http://www.premiumclimbers.co.nz/sub_tropical2.htm

OO thanks for that Tok .. that scarlet one looks pretty hardy too - seems it might do the trick.
Doesnt say anything about how it copes with the wind though.
I thought Id buy 2 colours and plant them together  :)

How come u have time to answer this - thought youd be fighting your way through the game levels  ;)

I'll have to get some of my books out and have a look as sandy soil is not something I have every had deal with.

However one idea is to just walk down the road and see what others have growing. The chances are if others can get it to grow so can you, especially if their garden looks a little neglected.

Australian natives could work well as generally they don't mind a lack of water and many can handle temperature extremes. Rosemary would do okay as well as many silver leafed plants.

I'll dig out a list of suggestions tonight for you.

Two colours would look great Lovelee, hope you post some pics when they are established. Our one gets a lot of wind and seems to handle it well.

I just needed a break from the games before, but I might just go back to the arcade now  ;)

Bourgainvillia is an excellent choice.

For flowering shrubs you might want to consider Abutilion (chinese lantern), hibiscus, Rosemary, lavender  or similar. If you can get one a sea holly would look fantastic.

Perenniels - if you like daisy like flowers gazania, transval daisy and gerbera should all to much better than they do in my garden as would geranium, carnation, verbena, chrsanthemum, salvia, sage to name a few. All tolerate or like dry conditions and well drained soil.

I am making some assumptions here like you aren't necessarily living there full time, don't get heavy frosts and have an exposed garden. If you have more shelter the list of suitable plants explodes. The only things I suspect wouldn't survive well would be bog loving plants.

SP - you sound like you can answer many of my problems.  Ive always been a gardener - but the harsh conditions at the beach make it difficult to keep some stuff alive.

We get high hard westerly winds - they contain sand and salt  :-\  Exposed to sun also.  Soil would be about 80% sand - maybe more.

The idea of looking round the neighbours places is fine, and Ive done that, but they all got boring stuff and I dont want our place to look like all of theirs!!!

I dont think anyone is growing bouganvilleas though -

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=37.09024,-95.712891&spn=47.167389,92.8125&z=4&om=1&layer=c&utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-google-svn&utm_medium=ha

I wonder if you can see the house here???  Its the deck I am working on pretecting at the moment .. from the sun - that deck is glassed all the way round.  Can ya see it??

wrong link??  :o