Clairdo, the first thing you should probably find out is if your town/city uses actual Sodium Chloride to salt the road, or if they use Potassium Chloride or some other "environmental" salt. Most cities around here are using environmental salt that won't harm vegetation. If that's the case, a little sand won't harm most plants and you probably have a lot more choice.

What's the area like otherwise, for drainage, sun, etc.? Does grass grow there?

And what sort of thing were you wanting to plant... perennials, annuals, shrubs, trees?

Hope to be of more help if you can give a little more info.

p.s. also, do you know what hardiness zone you are in?

I made a lasagna bed last year close to the road and had similar concerns. I did a bit of research and put in the following plants:
Dwarf Siberian Iris
Daylily
Cranesbill
Echinecea
Campanula (white and blue clips)
Blue Fescue
Liatris
Everything has come back nicely this year. Mind you, we had a very mild winter.

Danni

I'm in zone 3 and I would like to plant some tall shrubs to hide a cement retaining wall.
thank you for replying.
claire

Hello Clairdo (waving),
I understand that Rugosa roses have a high tolerance for salt.
If memory serves they are native to seashores in Siberia.
If the Rugosa roses are not tall enough for you could check out Hippophae rhamnoides / Sea Buckthorn.
Lois Hole recommends it for seaside gardens or by salted roads.

By the way check out the Far North forum, it caters to those of us in zones 3 and less.
It also has a photo gallery, if that interests you, and Konrad posts there sometimes.
Ian