50 S MAGAZINE ★ 28 JULY 2019
Alan Titchmarsh
“O
h, I do like to be
beside the seaside,
I do like to be
beside the sea...”
I can remember
every word of that song from when
I was a lad, especially the bit
about the brass band playing
“tiddely-om-pom-pom.” That
particularly amused me at the
time. And we were amused, too.
Seaside holidays were a treat to
be looked forward to all year.
Even now, the promenades of
many of the larger resorts keep
up their traditional carpet bedding,
particularly the old Victorian
and Edwardian favourites.
Eastbourne has almost a mile
of intricate planting spread out
spectacularly all along the
seafront and Blackpool also
puts on a good show.
But even more modest displays
are worth a look. Just think of the
work involved in planting and
watering, let alone the expense.
Eastbourne was said to have
spent £1 million on its traffic-
stopping display a few years back.Some resorts feature particular
plant specialities. Torquay has its
palm trees, Cornwall has hardy
fuchsia hedges lining the country
lanes and the Isle of Wight has
subtropical exotics, thriving in
the sheltered microclimate of
The Undercliff, in Ventnor Botanic
Garden. If you are visiting the
island, you have to see Queen
Victoria’s holiday home, Osborne
House, with its terraces of
Victorian-style bedding, her
children’s own plots and the
summerhouse where they had
gardening lessons.
Private patches are fun, too. It
is fascinating to see how seafront
residents deal with problems like
sand, strong sun and salt spray,
creating beachcombers’ gardens
that you rarely see inland.
Unable to grow normal plants,
they make low-maintenance
arrangements with gnarled
driftwood, pebbles and a few
salt-tolerant plants like tamarisk
and escallonia and perhaps an
old rowing boat, anchor chain or
painted lighthouse as props.Ocean’s heaven
Torquay’s
Abbey ParkBritain has an abundance of beautiful coastal gardens to explore, says Alan
African tamarisk
is often found in
seaside gardensEscallonia does
well in coastal
environments