Best Plants for Windy Gardens

After three storms in one week and a red weather warning, the below feature in RHS magazine February issue was an apt discovery....

Pick plants for windy spots;

'Choosing plants that will thrive in a windy garden can be challenging. Moisture is stripped from plants' leaves resulting in scorching and browning. Some plants including roses and buddleias suffer from their roots rocking. Although it may be possible to protect plants while they are establishing, in exposes gardens and areas of the garden it is best to choose plants that naturally resist the challenges.

Low growing plants usually escape the worst of the problem, but for taller plants we look for natural adaptions such as glossy or waxy leaves or any with fine hairs that help limit moisture loss.

The plants described here are some of those regarded as wind resistant. All have the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM) and are also RHS Plants for Pollinators.'

Olearia x scillonienis - A rounded shrub with narrowly elliptic grey-green leaves. Profuse white dairy-like flowers 2cm wide are borne in large clusters in late spring. Tolerant of coastal conditions. Can be grown as a hedge. Height and spread 2m.

Escallonia rubra 'Crimson Spire' - Vigorous evergreen shrub with glossy, dark green leaves and deep crimson flowers in summer and early autumn. Can reach more than 3m but for best effect maintain between 1-2m. A good choice for coastal areas and an informal wildlife hedge.

Salvia rosmarinus 'Miss Jessopp's Upright' - An evergreen shrub with upright growing branches to 1m tall; pale blue aromatic spring flowers amid short leaves. Likes a spot in full sun, in well-drained soil.

Salvia nemorosa 'Lubecca' - A bushy, hardy perennial growing to around 50cm with greyish green leaves and deep violet flowers in summer and autumn. A particularly great choice for attracting pollinators. Like a sunny site in well drained soil.

Bergenia 'Sunningdale' - A low growing, evergreen perennial with leathery, rounded leaves and dense, erect clusters of bell-shaped deep pink flowers in spring. A good choice for ground cover in sun or partial shade. Spreads to 50cm.