The Oregon coast is a place of beauty, and a welcome respite from the interior heat. It can also be challenging for gardeners – and not just tomato growers. Even sunny sites are often cool, and the winds and salt air take a serious toll on many summer flowers.
Fortunately there are a number of plants that both thrive in coastal conditions and look phenomenal from June through the fall.
Plants for Sun
Zonal Geraniums: Dependably cheerful and brightly intense, geraniums are bold enough to stand-alone planting in hanging baskets or flower beds, and friendly enough to companion with both larger and smaller plants. They can sometimes winter over.
Fan Flower (Scaevola): A cascade of light colored flowers, usually shades of blue but some varieties are pink. An easy-care choice for a hanging basket, also makes a great spiller over the edge of a color bowl. No deadheading required.
African Daisy (Osteospermum): A tough, relatively upright plant, with bold daisy flowers, available in quite a variety of colors. Better on the coast than they are inland.
Gazania: Another bright and showy daisy from South Africa, usually displaying striped or banded colors. It is very jewel-like, as blooms open during the day and close at night. Thrive in tough dry conditions.
Salvia: Heavy-blooming hummingbird favorites, red and orange varieties are popular classics, but other colors are available. Plant in rows or masses in flower beds, or use as accent fillers in color bowls. Need the best sun you can give them to perform well.
Verbena: Long blooming and drought tolerant, visited by bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, offered in a wide variety of intense colors. Trailing varieties are great in mixed hanging baskets or spilling out of a container; upright types are showy but tidy for color bowl accents.
Plants for Shade
Fuchsia: A go-to choice for coastal color, thrives in moderated temperatures. Trailing varieties provide a strong enough show for single-variety hanging baskets, but do just as well in a mixed basket or container. Upright varieties can make the back row of a flower bed or be a central focus of a color bowl.
Begonia: Tuberous begonias have show-stopping flowers in a range of colors, and are reliable performers in partial or in deeper shade. They do well in hanging baskets, and some varieties also have bold dramatic foliage.
Wax begonias are smaller, best suited as filler in color bowls or front ranks of flower beds. They perform best in the sun but will tolerate partial shade.
Lobelia: Blue, white, or purple accents and trailers, best in partial shade. Uprights are fillers in mixed containers or front edges of flower beds; trailers are long enough to mix with other vigorous plants in hanging baskets, but compact enough to cascade out of color bowls as well.
Wishbone Flower (Torenia): Less well known, but deserves more attention. Trumpet shaped flowers are colorful and most have striking darker or contrasting blotches. Blooms prolifically in full sun or in part shade.
New Guinea Impatiens: Larger and more tropical looking than smaller impatiens, New Guineas are also tougher and more resilient. Intense flowers in hot colors are showcased by the large, dark leaves. Best in partial shade.
Coleus: Dramatic, intense, bright or dark (often both!) leaves provide more striking and more reliable color than most flowering plants. Large specimens are suited for the back of a flower bed or centerpiece of a color bowl. Modern varieties are equally at home in full shade or mostly sun locations.
Keep your flower beds and containers happy and blooming by deadheading, consistent watering, and regular fertilizing.
With the right plants in the right places, your coastal garden can be full of color all summer long.