Peter Dowdall: Why coastal gardens offer a unique challenge that should be embraced

Don’t feel the need to replicate a suburban city garden down by the seaside

'The first thing to do when planting such a garden is to look around you. Take in what is growing naturally in the locality.' File Picture Dan Lienhan

When the weather improves, we all seem to head straight for the coast. Beaches are thronged and otherwise deserted roads are suddenly as busy as the M50. Those, lucky enough to live on or near the Irish coastline are indeed blessed at this time of the year as they don’t have far to travel though they do have the imposition of having to share their haven with masses of day-trippers all of a sudden.

The other challenge in such a landscape is horticultural. In many coastal gardens, the designer's paintbrush needs to be used very lightly, as the greater, natural landscape cannot be improved upon.