If you live by the sea or in areas where the weather conditions can be a bit harsh, you can still have beautiful garden decor with the aid of bamboos, conifers, bulbs and corms.
Bamboos
Several of this large related group of giant grasses can be used to provide protection from wind and to give distinctive shape and form, particularly in the larger seaside gardens. As shelter plants they tend to look rather tattered by the end of the winter but another growth of the annual stems will set them up for their summer display. Within the protection of other shelter and with some shade they provide distinctive outlines of evergreen leaves that break the solidity that is so often presented by many wind-hardy shrubs.
Arundinaria japonica is the most common and probably the hardiest bamboo but none the less valuable for that. A. nitida has smaller leaves and is not quite so tall but tends to spread rather more when well established in suitable conditions. A. pumilla and A. pygmaea are much smaller but both spread quickly and for that reason need careful placing if they are to be planted. There are many more of greater height that can be used in suitable conditions. Most of them thrive best in moist organic soil and light shade.
Conifers
Many of this group of trees also provide perpendicular lines among more stolid plants, for instance the smaller junipers and cypresses among heather and other small shrubs, or taller chamaecyparis and cypresses among larger trees and shrubs. The horizontal branches of cedars, first and spruces provide alternative and different lines where space is not limited. Except for the few described among the plants for shelter most are damaged by wind and salt and are best placed within the shelter of tougher trees and shrubs.
Bulbs and Corms
In addition to the many hardy bulbs that provide color in grass or among shrubs and herbaceous plants there are several bulbs and corms that can be grown in the milder seaside gardens. Most of them are at their best where the soil is light and dries out in the summer. Amaryllis belladonna, the crinums and their hybrids, the several agapanthus and many alliums all thrive in such conditions. Tulips and gladioli, particularly the smaller species and hybrids of each, will continue to grow for many years without being lifted annually as they need to be in damp cool conditions.
For the best garden decor ideas if you live in areas where the weather is harsh, bamboos, conifers, bulbs or corms will thrive.