Salt Tolerant Gardens

Salt Tolerant Plants for roadside plantings

One garden challenge is the corner where the driveway meets the road, especially in rural areas with no sidewalks. Winter snow and slush management results in salt being tossed in the planting area, and the plants being buried in snow. Fortunately, there are a number of plants which will tolerate these adverse conditions, and careful selection and placement will result in a garden that will grow and thrive year after year.

The plants listed below are deer resistant, and tolerant of salt and drought. Driveway and road borders can be drier than the rest of the yard and garden, and as summers get drier and hotter, drought tolerance becomes critical. As with all plants, supplemental watering during the first year to make sure the plants receive one inch of rain per week is need to get them established.

Another factor to consider with road and driveway side plantings is mature height – maintaining sightlines for vehiclesexiting the driveway is critical. The taller plants are at the back of the bed, and most of those are “see-through” – Yucca, Penstemon, and Asters have tall flowers, but the bulk of the plant is low to the ground.

Achillea - Yarrow

Asclepias tuberosa - Butterfly Weed

Aster novae-angliae - New England Aster

Bouteloua gracilis - Blue Grama Grass

Buxus microphylla ‘Baby Gem’ – Baby Gem Boxwood

Dianthus – Pinks

Echinacea purpurea - Purple Coneflower

Juniperus horizontalis - Bar Harbor Juniper

Liatris novae-angliae - New England Blazing Star

Narcissus ‘Tete-a-Tete’, ‘Dutch Master’

Nepeta faassenii “Kit Kat” - Kit Kat Catmint

Penstemon – Beardtongue