SURF 'N' TURF ; OCEAN BREEZES OFTEN LEAVE WATERFRONT GARDENERS HIGH AND DRY. BUT HERE ARE SOME BEAUTIFUL PLANTS, SHRUBS AND TREES THAT ARE REALLY WORTH THEIR SALT.

South Florida Sun - Sentinel; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Apr 25, 2003; Thomas C. Hewitt Special Correspondent

Gardening in subtropical South Florida never has been easy. Our soil is poor. Our humidity is high. The heat is scorching.

Combine these negatives with the high winds and salt spray that bombard waterfront property and the odds for success are what Vegas gamblers call a "sucker's proposition."

"People gardening on the water get a double whammy," says Lee Steele, of Rio Vista Isles. Even though she lives on the Intracoastal Waterway, her garden is not immune to the ill effects of wind and salt spray.

"With the waterway being particularly wide at this point and the Port Everglades Channel just around the bend, I sometimes feel like I'm living in a wind tunnel," says Steele, who is a member of the Parkinsonia Circle of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs.

Steele is not alone. With more and more people gardening along the coast each year, salt tolerance and wind resistance have become increasingly important considerations. Learning which plants thrive under these adverse conditions can save a homeowner a lot of money.

"I used to try impatiens along the water," Steele says, "as well as bananas and other plants that tear up easily. Now I only choose plants that can take the high winds and salt spray that find their way here."

Though she uses moderately salt-tolerant plants in protected locations along the sides and front of her house, she has learned to use only extremely salt-tolerant ones on land facing the water.

Her versatile plantings clearly belie the theory that using salt- tolerant plants makes for a dull landscape. Thirteen years ago, she tore out everything but the 11 trees on the property left by the previous owner. Two 32-foot sea grapes frame her view of the Intracoastal. She has an arborist come each year and selectively prune them to keep their canopies open.

The pruning, Steele says , allows high winds to pass through the plant rather than uprooting them.

Steele planned her landscape in tiers, using the tree canopies as the top layer. She underplanted her trees with shrubs, and used perennials in the foreground. Although she admits she will never be done "tweaking" her original design, she now has a basic arrangement of plants that pleases her.

Steele and others living on the Intracoastal Waterway are the lucky ones. The real challenges come to those trying to garden in areas directly exposed to the ocean. Jaine Viscome, owner of Designs by Jaine in Lake Worth, suggests they do their homework before selecting plants, especially palms.

"Most people assume all palm trees are salt-tolerant," Viscome says. "Actually, there are only about 18 or so that I would describe as highly tolerant of salt spray."

She prefers seashore palms (Allagoptera arenaria), whose graceful leaves have silver undersides that seem to shimmer in the breeze. A shrubby palm, it only grows to around 6 feet. She also likes Florida natives silver palm (Coccothrinax argentata) and similar-looking Key thatch palm (Thrinax morrisii), both of which grow to around 20 feet.

For an upper canopy, Viscome recommends coconut, sabal or date palms.

"I suggest buying smaller specimens," she cautions, "so they have more time to acclimate to their new environment."

Viscome says many palms are commercially grown in areas far from the coast and need time to adapt to coastal conditions. Planting anything next to the base of a palm is never a good idea, but she recommends underplanting taller palms with natal plum (Carissa grandiflora), pittosporum and other salt-tolerant shrubs.

Steele has her own salt-tolerant favorites for color and interest.

"With most salt-tolerant plants," she says, "the accent is really on foliage rather than blooms."

She loves the look of inkberry (Scaevola plumieri), especially when planted next to a seawall where it can cascade over the edge. She also likes using Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) and liriope to frame shrubs and walkways. Some salt-tolerant ground covers that perform well in her garden include oyster plant (Rhoeo spathacea), purple queen (Setcreasea pallida) and wandering jew (Zebrina pendula).

A good ground cover for those directly on the ocean, Viscome says, is beach sunflower (Helianthus debilis). This Florida native spreads to 3 or 4 feet, and is easily started by cuttings, although it also comes up freely from seed. Wedelia (Wedelia trilobata) is also a good choice. Both have yellow, daisylike flowers year-round. Another plant that looks good mixed with beach sunflower is gaillardia. This native wildflower comes in various combinations of red and yellow, and also self-sows easily.

A staunch believer in using native species whenever possible, Viscome also likes the look of sea lavender (Argusia gnaphalodes). Now an endangered species, this attractive shrub with silver-gray leaves was once a common sight along South Florida beaches. Fortunately, some native nurseries are now propagating this unusual plant and making it available to coastal gardeners. Viscome also touts the virtues of bayberry (Myrica cerifera), an attractive, dense shrub valued as a nesting site for birds. Its waxy berries are also an important food source for many of them. Bay cedar (Suriana maritima) is another interesting native that resembles a small conifer. Although it most generally grows about 6 to 12 feet tall, it can occasionally take on the proportions of a small tree.

Buttonwood is high on the list of Steele's favorite natives.

"Silver buttonwoods only get more beautiful with time," she says, "and can even be trimmed as a hedge to protect less wind- and salt- tolerant plants."

To protect many of the tender plants she can't resist growing in pots, she displays them on an enclosed patio next to the house. Visible and accessible from the house itself, this area offers a quiet, wind-free refuge for Steele and her plants.

Steele uses many dependable, salt-tolerant plants as accents. "Crown-of-thorns are beautiful," she says, "and bloom year-round." She also uses groupings of bromeliads, aloes and kalanchoes.

Ever the optimist, she refuses to give in to the special challenges of gardening on the water.

"There is always color in my garden," she says, "regardless of what Mother Nature throws my way."

Thomas C. Hewitt is a gardener and freelance writer who lives in West Palm Beach.