Rain gardening
Today begins the installation of my rain garden.
There is a corner of my yard that sits so low that a heavy rain will literally wash the dirt and mulch - and seeds -- into the street. I have actually had verbena bonariensis growing in the sediment in the curb.
The really bad news is, that rainwater, carrying, dirt, mulch, nitrogen and pollutants from my roof, washes into a nearby storm drain and straight into the Chesapeake Bay.
A rain garden is a garden built to collect that rain. Sitting even lower that the surrounding yard and constructed with filtering stone or organic material and surrounded by small berms, it traps much of the rain and, over a day or two, allows it to pass down through the earth's natural filters and into the water table. Clean as a whistle.
The rain garden doesn't have to catch all the rain. The first inch contains almost all of the pollutants. But the plants I install there are going to have to be able to handle both drought and boggy conditions -- a tricky combination.
More and more municipalities are requiring rain gardens in new construction. And other communities are installing them in public spaces where rainwater runoff is a problem.
Home gardeners can do their part. A rain garden doesn't have to be large. And it can be beautiful.
Stay tuned here at Garden Variety today for more pictures of the rain garden and more information about installing one of your own.
Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/Susan Reimer
Comments
I really look forward to watching your progress and seeing your plant choices. Can you give us a hint as to what you're thinking about, so we can mull it over with you?
Oh. Kerry. I welcome your suggestions. I will be giving a list of plants already in that spot and talking about the ones I want to try to save. I can't bear to part with any of them, but I am not sure how my climbing roses are going to like it there!--Susan
Posted by: Kerry | October 23, 2009 9:59 AM
I am happy to see an article about rain gardens. I have two installed on my property using native plants. It helps keep the water away from the foundation. I also enjoy the butterflies and birds that visit the plants and,this year, had a rabbit that cleared out a little resting area under the plants. Not bad for a sterile city neighborhood. My neighbors are not so appreciative- looks like weeds to them.
Wow, what a wonderful word picture.--Susan
Posted by: Rebecca Bell | October 23, 2009 10:57 AM
Ms. Reimer, Good for you, a rain garden is a wonderful project. My fifth graders installed one four years ago as a Green School Project. As you're planning don't forget about nature. Insects, birds, and animals depend on the choices we make. Please feel free to come out to Harford County and chat with my young stewards, they would always appreciate a writer's visit. G. Pippen.
It is on my list!--Susan
Posted by: Glenn Pippen | October 23, 2009 1:24 PM
You might also want to consider adding a rainbarrel to trap the runoff from your roof gutters as well. I have two and use the rain water on my plants during long dry spells. I got mine from the Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center in Millersville (Anne Arundel County).
http://www.arlingtonecho.org/restoration-projects/rain-barrels.html
Got one!--Susan
Posted by: Don Street | October 23, 2009 1:37 PM
Oops. I read more of the story about the rain garden and saw you already have a rain barrel on your deck. Good for you!
LOL. I'm wondering why I don't have four!
Posted by: Don Street | October 23, 2009 1:40 PM
I installed plants in a low spot in my yard twenty years ago that I knew wouldn't mind being soggy when it rained. The only problem I ever had was when we had a drought. You can see a bit of it on my blog where I have a rotating photo display of my garden. The rain garden is surrounded by hosta.
Cool, Reggie!
Posted by: Reggie Greenberg | October 23, 2009 6:54 PM
I love the rain garden idea. Wanted to let you know about the rain barrels. I purchased one from Arlington Echo, too. That place is fantastic. Worth a visit.
Posted by: Janet | October 24, 2009 8:57 AM
from the "Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening" that I won from you.
Groundcovers for wet sites:
Japanese sweet flag, lady's mantle, meadow anemone, chinese astilbe, sedges, pink coreopsis, horsetails, sweet woodruff, hostas, primrose, marsh fern.
Wow!! Thanks, notableM...--Susan
Posted by: NotableM | October 24, 2009 4:05 PM
A great topic. Looking forward to learning how to calculate how large the garden should be.
Posted by: jamie hunt | October 25, 2009 12:06 PM
Sounds wonderful! Enjoyed reading about your rain garden. Are you aware of the RainScaping Campaign...An Environmental Partnership for Stormwater Runoff Solutions? The campaign has 38 partners, including Anne Arundel County. "The RainScaping Campaign promotes a comprehensive approach to easy-to-use solutions to clean up our streams, creeks, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay. RainScaping techniques such as rain gardens, native tree and shrub planting, rain barrels, and permeable pavers are proven and widely-accepted "beautiful landscaping techniques" that effectively manage stormwater runoff at the source, while protecting natural resources and providing wildlife habitat." I encourage you to visit www.RainScaping.org. We plan to add many more photos, as well as add short videos to the website.
Thanks, Zora!
Posted by: Zora Lathan | October 28, 2009 5:45 PM
It is a wonderful and amazing idea of cleaning your back yard with rain water. All the dirt and pollution will naturally be cleaned away.
Not cleaned away, exactly. But collected and allowed to soak into the water table after having been filtered by the layers of dirt and rock in between. Instead, of course, of being washed into the storm drains and into the water system.--Susan
Posted by: virginia bed and breakfast | October 30, 2009 6:44 AM