Country diary: a rocket propelled by wind and water

Roker beach, Sunderland: Sea rocket, with its lilac-coloured flowers, thrives in the sand in the toughest of seaside environmentsThe tide had turned and I walked up from the water's edge, past tangled heaps of kelp cast up by autumn gales, then over soft, dry sand that is wetted only by extreme equinoctial spring tides. In a corner of the beach, between the promenade and the pier, I found a patch of sea rocket, Cakile maritima, still in full bloom.This maritime member of the cabbage family, with lilac-coloured flowers that emit a delicate carnation fragrance, thrives in this toughest of seaside environments. It's under constant threat of burial by wind-blown sand but is dependent on the sea, transported around our shores by coastal currents in much the same way that coconuts are carried between coral atolls. Continue reading...