Landscaping Ideas for the Beach in South Texas

Trees

• Form a barrier with salt-tolerant trees, such as the Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea), also called umbrella pine and stone pine. The evergreen is hardy in USDA zones 7 through 11 and can grow 100 feet tall, although it normally reaches a height and width of about 35 to 45 feet. Its long, bright-green needles offset its showy orange bark. The Italian stone pine performs best in a sunny site and bears edible nuts. Hardy in USDA zones 6 through 10, screwbean mesquite (Prosopis pubescens) also tolerates salty conditions. The deciduous tree reaches a height of 25 to 40 feet and produces bright-yellow flowers in late spring. It also bears edible seeds.

Shrubs

• Shrubs can form the backbone of your South Texas landscape. Salt-tolerant varieties include Texas sage (Leucophyllum frutescens), a 3- to 6-foot-tall and wide Texas native with silvery foliage. Texas sage produces pink flowers in summer and thrives in sandy, salty conditions. It's hardy in USDA zones 8 through 9. Another shrub option is oleander (Nerium oleander), which has pink, red or white flowers and can grow 18 feet tall. The evergreen has shiny, dark leaves and can be trained to grow as a tree. It's hardy in USDA zones 9 through 11 and grows best in a sunny, dry site. All parts of oleander are toxic.

Ground-Covers

• Ground-covers help prevent erosion from wind and water. Highly salt-tolerant species include saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), a tough, North American native that grows to 3 inches tall and spreads to 16 feet wide. Hardy in USDA zones 6 through 10, saltgrass can be used in lawns because it handles foot traffic or as an ornamental grass. It grows well in an alkaline site and has silvery foliage. Trailing ice plant (Lampranthus spectabilis) is another ground-cover that tolerates highly saline conditions. With its gray-green leaves and brilliant red, purple and pink flowers, this 12-inch-tall ground-cover attracts bees. Trailing ice plant is hardy in USDA zones 9 through 11 and grows well in a sunny site with minimal irrigation.

Perennials

• Perennials add seasonal color to a South Texas landscape. Beach sunflowers (Helianthus debilis), for example, tolerates sandy, salty conditions and is hardy in USDA zones 8b through 10. Its pale-yellow flowers top 4-foot-tall stalks, and the plant grows well in a sunny, dry planting site. The beach verbena (Verbena maritima) also grows in coastal conditions. The 12-inch-tall perennial produces purple blossoms and is hardy in USDA zones 10 through 11. Native to the United States, beach verbena helps to prevent erosion in sandy areas and stabilizes dunes.