It’s starting to green up in the woods and in the meadows but also at the beach. It always amazes me to see the amount of plants that sprout in the sand. It’s a good thing because it’s the roots of all those wonderful green things that keeps the sand on the beach!
Beach grass can be found on dunes and on the upper parts of the beach that don’t get inundated by the tides. It has long, tenacious roots, often going six feet or more down through the sand to reach water. This is what stabilizes the dunes and helps the plants stay in place even in the toughest of storms.
Rosa rugosa, also known commonly as our beach rose, is another feisty plant that weathers all sorts of wind and rain, erosion and tidal sweeps. It is just starting to sprout leaves and it won’t be too long before it flowers.
I love seeing these plants push through the sand, maybe even more than the woodland ephemerals. These plants earn their keep by the seaside and I respect that about them, even the homeliest among them.
Do you have a favorite beach flower or plant?
