SEA BUCKTHORN

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) is a thorny, deciduous shrub native to coastal dunes, riverbanks, and mountain slopes across Europe and central Asia, where it tolerates poor soils, salt spray, and hard frost with equal indifference. In the garden it grows as a dense, silver-leaved thicket, bearing small lance-shaped leaves that catch the light with a soft, metallic sheen. Female plants, when grown alongside a male, produce dense clusters of vivid orange berries that persist well into winter, drawing birds and providing a striking presence in the landscape long after other shrubs have gone dormant.