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Do you have a bog, low spot, problems with standing water? Well then, a rain garden just might be the solution to your landscaping problems and you will be helping the environment as well.
(Picture courtesy of the Virgina Department of Forestry)
Is a rain garden right for you? Steps to follow to help you decide:
The first thing is to choose the right place for your rain garden. Look over your property for your existing drainage pattern. It may not be readily noticeable at first, but note the direction of water run off and low spots where water collects. If these spots are away from the foundation of your home , they will be good places for a rain garden.
Avoid creating a rain garden too close to building foundations, this may lead to a leaky basement.
Be aware of rights of way and underground lines or utilities. Before you dig call your utility company and have all lines flagged so you have a record of these underground locations.
Direct the rain. There are many creative ways to direct and divert the rain if you do not have a natural flow on your property. One areas would be to divert the overflow from a rain barrel down a pre-constructed tunnel or swale to your rain garden. The water properly diverted and filtered leads to fewer mosquito breeding areas.
Native plants are recommended for rain gardens. They generally need little or no fertilizer and are more tolerant of one's local climate. The plants are normally a selection of wetland edge vegetation, i.e., sedges, ferns, and shrubs as well as many other types. These plants take up excess water flowing into the rain garden. Water then filters through soil layers before entering the groundwater and the root systems enhance the infiltration and redistribution of moisture and aid in enhancing microbial populations.
By acting as a filtration system for storm water and surface waters, the planting and maintenance of rain gardens in an urban yard can cut down on the pollution of local creeks and streams up to 30 percent. Rain garden's are very low maintenance,once established they need little or no care other than mulching.
Rain gardens can become wildlife oases-you should plan for songbirds, butterflies, colors, fragrances and sounds. And given your areas, deer, rabbits, squirrels, frogs and lizards may also appear.
Rain gardening was developed in Maryland in the 1990s. It is becoming more and more important in home and commercial landscaping features as people are becoming more aware of the benefits both as a lovely garden feature and a way to help the environment.
It is a far more complex subject than I can cover in one article. If you are interested in adding this delightful feature I recommend a few sites:
These are just a few of the sites filled with excellent information on this subject and I believe well worth your time to explore.
About Catherine Smith
Hubby and I have been doing Organic Gardening off and on for over 25 years. Just finishing the Virginia Master Gardening classes at the end of Nov 07. I love talking and teaching gardening to anybody that will listen.
Posted by Auntie_Chel (from Fayette, IA) on May 18, 2009 at 10:32 PM:
Has anyone done a mixture of ornamentals and local plants in their garden..
Has anyone come across a nice site that can offer information on rain gardens that lists ornamentals, too?
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Subject: Rain Garden
Posted by butter3fly (from Yuba City, CA) on October 21, 2008 at 02:49 PM:
I am working on a landscape plan for the new house I will be building in Brevard NC USDA 7A zone. The community backs up to a national forrest and most lots are steep to vertical (mine is just steep). I have been researching rain gardens to slow down or prevent runoff. I have two questions I hope you can help with.
1.Will a rain garden attract copperhead snakes? One garden center discouraged the planting of bushes that attract birds as they are a food source of the snakes.
2.Do you know of any photos of mature rain gardens. Most of the photos I have found are of newly planted gardens or weedy looking gardens.
With the slope of my lot preventing run off is a concern. I don't want to put anything on the plans that I am required to submit that I will have stick to if I don't like the looks of the mature rain garden and decide to take it out. Thank you for your help.
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Subject: Perfect solution for my soggy back yard
Posted by michaeljo (from West Norriton, PA) on February 22, 2008 at 07:47 AM:
The north corner of my back yard has been a problem for me and the previous home owners. During a rain (or snow) storm, the water from my neighbors' yards flows into that area and fills it with about 3 inches of water that takes a few days to drain. The yard is surrounded by at least 30 arborvitaes. In this northern corner of the yard, the previous owners had to replace about 10 of the arborvitaes (twice) and I now need to replace 5 more. After reading your article and checking out a few of the links, I think the trees are struggling with the boggy area in that corner of the yard. The rain garden seems like the perfect solution for this area. Thanks for the article and the very helpful links.
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Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on February 22, 2008 at 09:05 AM:
Thank you so much for letting me know, michaeljo. This is a new concept and it's just fascinating. There is a monster mall close to us that has used this type of method to help control run off and filter the rain water going into the river. The plants can be just lovely and very subtle. Something nice in the middle of all that concrete.
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Subject: yeah!
Posted by SuzB (from Pensacola, FL) on February 04, 2008 at 08:50 AM:
My DH and I were just contemplating bringing in a few yards of soil to level out our boggy backyard bottom edge...HOWEVER, this sounds much more the thing. It could turn an eyesore into a focal point.
Thanks!
Suz
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Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on February 04, 2008 at 09:00 AM:
No problem, I just thought these were so neat and could really make an area "pop". Please provide pictures of your project. :)
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Subject: Do Storm Water Management Ponds count?
Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on January 31, 2008 at 08:50 PM:
When we moved into our property, the road wasn't yet "approved". After much arguing and negotiation, we agreed to give a right of way to the developer for a Storm Water Management Pond. We'd already lived here 2 years and knew the land and what it would tolerate.
We came to an agreement for them to put in a bunch of native shrubs and trees. We've been very happy with the resulting wildlife growth :)
Great article and even when the bog area is very dry in the summer, it's still a plus for us - thanks for the great information!
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Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on February 01, 2008 at 05:33 AM:
Thanks Dea, it's really a rather complex subject. It's really amazing what can be done by planting Native plants by one of these types of projects. It appears to be a whole new way to help protect the watershed. It's just not very known as yet.
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Subject: This is exactly what I need!
Posted by cathy4 (from St. Louis County, MO) on January 31, 2008 at 07:05 PM:
Thank you for this information, it is exactly what I need for my daughter's yard. The links are very helpful.
