Erosion Control Strategies for Seaside Gardens

Living on the beach is fantastic, but it comes with a landscaping challenge: erosion can occur rapidly in a beach environment. Several best practices help maintain your shoreline and coastal garden. The ecosystem dynamics shaping the coastline result from wind and wave action. Soil stabilization is the most important part of erosion control for beachfront property. Here's how to stabilize soil against erosion from wind, salt spray, and water.

Jo Thompson Landscape & Garden Design

Plants

The easiest way to control erosion is with vegetation—native plants are resilient and cost-effective. Establish native plants adapted to your dune environment to trap sediment. Plant roots create a living network of subgrade fibers that hold sand and soil in place. The goal: create a plant community with diverse root types.

Resolution: 4 Architecture

Some plants have creeping roots running aboveground (stolons) or belowground (rhizomes)—excellent for creating a root mat that holds soil together. Use a combination of woody plants with shallow and deep roots stretching through the full soil horizon for increased stability.

Habitat Post & Beam, Inc.

Native dune vegetation is uniquely adapted to growing in shifting sands with constant wind, glaring sun, and salt spray. The first vegetation zone, just above the high-tide line, is the foredune—the most challenging environment for plants.

Grants Gardens

Many native foredune species are protected by state and federal laws because they're critical for dune stabilization. Maintain and protect native vegetation in this zone. If your property lacks it due to a major storm or construction, consult a local landscape architect on reestablishing this habitat.

Traction Architecture

A combination of sand fences set perpendicular to wind direction and native plants can build up the dune ecosystem. Caution: this zone may be regulated by your municipality. Check local regulations before any foredune work.

Raymond Jungles, Inc.

Behind the foredune is the back of the dune or landward side. This area receives less salt spray, but plants must still be salt and drought tolerant. Depending on location, subsequent ecological zones might spread into a high-dune ecosystem or transition into a maritime forest with trees and large shrubs. Sea grape (Coccoloba uvifera), one of my personal favorites, is an excellent back-of-dune plant native to Florida.

Carolyn Chadwick

Coastal garden plants must be salt and drought tolerant. Ask your local nursery for beach-ready species, or visit a nearby protected park with intact native coastal vegetation to observe what thrives.

Zeterre Landscape Architecture

Sea thrift (Armeria maritima) is a lovely salt-tolerant plant for coastal North America, growing in USDA zones 4–8 and very drought tolerant.

June Scott Design

Muhlenbergia capillaris (pink muhly grass) produces big, soft pinkish flower plumes in autumn. It's a beach native in parts of the southeast U.S. and looks wonderful billowing in the sea breeze.

The Philbin Group Landscape Architecture

Steep Slopes

When steep slopes necessitate help jump-starting vegetation, erosion control mats or rolls are used—most often on rocky soils and steep slopes.

An erosion control mat is a loosely woven textile of jute, straw, or other biodegradable fiber laid on soil and secured with landscape stakes. It holds soil while young plants establish.

Erosion control rolls are biodegradable materials formed into a long fiber sausage (about 8 inches diameter) staked along a slope. Over time, plant roots hold soil as the mat or roll breaks down.

Plantswoman Design

Rocks

Rock walls, riprap, boulders, and gabions break up wave energy on rocky coastlines near the high tide line. Use locally sourced stone to blend with the existing beach context. On rocky coasts in the Pacific Northwest or Maine, experiment with establishing mosses and lichens on rocks for a lovely seaside look.

Margie Grace - Grace Design Associates

Boulders combined with grasses and seaside plants create a rustic beach look.

Neumann Mendro Andrulaitis Architects LLP

Pathways

Pedestrian traffic contributes to erosion by trampling vegetation and loosening soil. Plan pathways with stable surfaces to avoid foot-traffic-induced erosion.

Grants Gardens

A combination of wood decks, raised pathways, and soft sand areas creates a carefree beach garden setting.

Grants Gardens

Marshy tidal flats and mangrove areas may require an elevated pathway (flyover) constructed well above soils and vegetation to provide beach or dock access without disturbing the native ecosystem. Flyovers may cost more than on-grade paths but protect vegetation and reduce long-term erosion likelihood.

More: Breeze Into Coastal Landscapes