We have just returned from family vacation at the beach. The beautiful NC coastline is only a memory until next time! While visiting various beach houses,  I was always looking for plants that thrive near the beach. The plant that that I admired the most grew over the retaining wall along the driveway of our rental house. Hanging four to five feet over the wall were several creeping rosemary plants.

These full grown specimens were not only full of deep green foliage, they were in full flower. Small pale blue flowers graced the long arching limbs of dark green foliage.  These beautiful specimens grew strong and were obviously long lived. To have such plants at the beach, irrigation is a must. If looking for an evergreen shrub for a beach yard, Rosemary plants have proven themselves to me! Upright varieties make excellent shrubs and creeping types can be used as a ground cover or a cascading plant to soften a wall. Bottom line is Rosemary works well in coastal plantings, and being an herb plant as well as a shrub, many uses can be found for cooking with the clippings.