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Protect a Precious Resource With a Rain Garden
Promote pure water and a beautiful landscape with a garden design that makes the most of the rain
I blog about small houses, community and sustainability. In 2009 I founded microhouse, an award winning design collaborative to focus on cottage housing and backyard cottage design. To learn more about backyard cottages please visit ( http://www.microhousenw.com/ or http://www.seattlebackyardcottage.blogspot.com/)
I blog about small houses, community and sustainability. In 2009 I founded... More »
Rain gardens are a great way of creating beautiful landscapes while protecting one of our most precious resources. They are water features that celebrate natural processes, and they're constantly changing — growing during storm events and then subsiding. Their varying states nurture a variety of plants and wildlife.
In a pristine environment, rainfall is picked up by plants or absorbed into the ground, where it recharges local streams and groundwater. Rain gardens enhance these natural processes, increasing groundwater infiltration and helping to break down contaminants, keeping them out of local waterways.
In a pristine environment, rainfall is picked up by plants or absorbed into the ground, where it recharges local streams and groundwater. Rain gardens enhance these natural processes, increasing groundwater infiltration and helping to break down contaminants, keeping them out of local waterways.
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| What Does a Rain Garden Do? In urban areas, impervious surfaces (like paving and rooftops) prevent rainwater from entering the ground, so it must be collected and discharged. Increased runoff from these surfaces creates excessive peak flows that lead to erosion and water degradation. This runoff often contains biological contamination, from fertilizer and pet waste to oils from roads and driveways. The cost of conveying and treating this runoff is considerable, which is why an increasing number of public utilities are offering incentives to homeowners who reduce runoff by building rain gardens. |
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| Choosing a Location Look for existing low points in your yard at least 10 feet away from property lines and houses, but near the impervious surface that's causing the runoff. The size of your rain garden will depend on local rainfall, the tributary area and the soil type. Poorly draining soils can be amended with mulch, which functions a bit like a giant sponge, holding water where it can be picked up by plants. |
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| Rain gardens fill with water during and after storms. The water percolates into the soil and dissipates through a process called evapotranspiration, a combination of evaporation and the release of moisture from plants. Still, it is a good idea to plan for water discharge into an area away from buildings. Seasonal pools like this one are a good solution, and they're a valuable habitat for amphibians and other wildlife. These ponds dry up in the summer, so they don't encourage mosquitoes. |
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| Planning Your Garden Rain gardens come in all sizes. This small rain garden designed by Vinita Sidhu collects the runoff from a garage roof. Choose a variety of plants to accommodate the different zones within the garden. The lowest points will receive more water and stay wet longer than plants on higher sides. |
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| Native plants that can tolerate both occasional flooding and dry periods are great choices for rain gardens. Your city and state cooperative extensions are likely to have great resources available to help you design your rain garden. The Seattle Public Utilities Rainwise Program is one of many great resources. |
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Incorporating Style
Disconnecting roof downspouts keeps clean roof runoff out of the sewer system. Rain chains both manage and celebrate rainfall and provide visual interest, even during periods of light rain. Here, a rock-lined channel moves the water from the house to the rain garden.
Disconnecting roof downspouts keeps clean roof runoff out of the sewer system. Rain chains both manage and celebrate rainfall and provide visual interest, even during periods of light rain. Here, a rock-lined channel moves the water from the house to the rain garden.
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| Rain gardens are a great way to soften a formal landscape or to provide a transition from formal to natural areas of the landscape. Choose plants that enhance your backyard and create a cohesive look. Do you have a rain garden? We'd love to see it. Please post a photo below! More: See architecture designs that save rain More guides to landscape design |
Comments
zombieknit I have never heard of rain gardens before. What a brilliant concept. We are going to have a 5000 litre water tank to collect water from the roof, but this is much more interesting. Would love to see what others have done.
10 months ago · Like
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edgedale I think rain gardens are a great idea, would like to see an article relating specifically to the SE region of the US where humidity, mold/mildew and mosquito's are big issues...the question becomes how to have an area that doesn't become rank?
10 months ago · Like
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dibenjamin I built a raingarden in my front yard in New Jersey. It handles the runoff from our sump pump and our new patio. Two pipes lead water into it. It was constructed by digging a pit about 25 feet by 5 feet by 4 feet deep, fronted by a berm. I built a wall of fieldstone in front of the berm. I filled the pit with sand and then dirt, and planted it with a variety of plants like catmint, lavender, iris, lilies and coreopsis. I put roses from David Austin on top of the berm, so they will spill over the wall (when they get bigger). The idea is to avoid overburdening the town sewer system. The people in the town admin love it and have stopped by to admire it. 
10 months ago · Like
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rnestingen raingardens should generally be designed to infiltrate the water in 24-48 hours - this avoids problems with them becoming rank and mosquito breeding grounds. here's an article from GA: http://www.cleanwatercampaign.com/files/rain_garden_brochure.pdf
10 months ago · Like
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crackerjack9257 Don't try this in Oregon, you'll go to jail for hoarding water.
10 months ago · Like
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tucsonteresa I live in Tucson. Could you showcase rain gardens in arid climates?
10 months ago · Like
Carolina Girl I live at the lake and when we get rainstorms there is a gully between us and our neighbor that flows like a river to the lake. I thought a dry rock bed would be great there with a small bridge arching over it. A Rain Garden with vegitation is much more interesting and also would help hold the soil in place as well as generate clean water back to the lake. Thank you for this blog and keep up the great work. 
10 months ago · Like
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janet4784 Great ideas! Rain gardens, and rain barrels/cisterns are the future.
10 months ago · Like
bmat Faculty at NC State Univ have written a book, Rain Gardens of the South (Kraus&Spafford, Eno Pub). I used it to construct two rain gardens at my NC home, with no mold, mildew or mosquito problems.
10 months ago · Like
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microhouse Poorly draining soils are a challenge. I designed this rain garden as a leach field where storage volume was created using washed pea stone and perforated abs pipe. During a storm all of the action goes on below the surface. It takes a bit of knowledge to size the system but the end result is that the water has time to slowly percolate into the ground. 
10 months ago · Like
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Plan-it Earth Design I try to include rain gardens on all my projects that are appropriate for one. They are not only environmentally friendly, they are beautiful and lush. They can help to create an element around which to organize a small space, establish a path or include wetland plants. Thanks for spreading the word with your article! See more rain gardens at http://www.houzz.com/pro/gardenmaker/planit-earth-design 
2 months ago · Like
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Ideabook published on July 31, 2012.
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