Rain garden installed with Hibiscus and native grasses.
Last week, the Yardblog post was about green infrastructure. So this week, I thought it would be a good idea to write about something a little more specific about green infrastructure and yards. Obviously, rain gardens are a perfect topic! If you search this website about them, you will find lots of info. Rain gardens are amazing gardening items and extremely popular these days because they have enormous benefits for a property and nature. They create micro-habitats, improve the health of pollinators, look incredible, naturally fight mosquitoes and many others. Though there’re lots of good reasons to put one in your yard, the number one thing rain gardens are designed to do is manage stormwater. With the right placement in a yard and with the right design, a rain garden can turn a soggy backyard into a paradise or transform a boring spot into a eco-wonderland. Read more after the break.
Rain gardens are a form of green infrastructure, and they are ideal for residential homes. They couple beautifully with other green infrastructure techniques to make your rainwater work best for your space. Plus, as the image above shows, they combined with an overall master plan for a yard to add life, style and nature to a space.
What is a Rain Garden?
A rain garden is a depression designed to temporarily store rainwater runoff from things like roofs, driveways and walkways. During a rainstorm, they catch water, filter it and then allow it to slowly absorb into the ground. This approach improves the quality of the water and takes pressure off of nearby waterways where excess rainwater is directed. Rain gardens use native perennials, grasses and shrubs that love the change from dry to oversaturated conditions.
What is a Rain Garden?
A rain garden is a depression designed to temporarily store rainwater runoff from things like roofs, driveways and walkways. During a rainstorm, they catch water, filter it and then allow it to slowly absorb into the ground. This approach improves the quality of the water and takes pressure off of nearby waterways where excess rainwater is directed. Rain gardens use native perennials, grasses and shrubs that love the change from dry to oversaturated conditions.
 |  |  |
A rain garden can be a standalone feature for a yard positioned, for example, near a downspout or along the edge of a driveway. Or, it can be part of an overarching strategy to deal with a wet, muddy backyard due to poor drainage. They can even be used to reduce water coming into a basement in some cases. The three images above show the construction of a rain garden at different stages. The image to the far right shows the underground part that soaks up rainwater. The middle image shows the same spot after soil and stone have covered the area. The image on the far left shows all of the plants to be installed in the rain garden to give it a wow-factor and make it a central element to the yard.
Designing a Rain Garden
There’s lots of ways to design a rain garden, but I think it’s really important to think about the aesthetic of it form the beginning. In some cases, the rain garden will be a focal point of a yard, and other times it’s less so. In plant selection, you want to make sure you have the right plants for the different zones of a rain garden. What I mean by zones is that some parts will be wet more often and for longer periods of time than others. In places like northern New Jersey, the spring is very wet, so you could see water in the depression 30 to 50% of the weeks from March to June. In other parts of the country, you may see much less such as southern California.
Designing a Rain Garden
There’s lots of ways to design a rain garden, but I think it’s really important to think about the aesthetic of it form the beginning. In some cases, the rain garden will be a focal point of a yard, and other times it’s less so. In plant selection, you want to make sure you have the right plants for the different zones of a rain garden. What I mean by zones is that some parts will be wet more often and for longer periods of time than others. In places like northern New Jersey, the spring is very wet, so you could see water in the depression 30 to 50% of the weeks from March to June. In other parts of the country, you may see much less such as southern California.
Rain garden in Ottawa, Canada
For wetter climates, I love to use cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis), Blue flag iris (Iris versicolor) and rush (aka Juncus effusus) at the lowest points because they both do very well in super moist spots. Places that it is less saturated, Liatris spicata, Mountain mint, coneflowers, aster, bee balm and lots of others can be used. I think rain gardens look best when there’s a base of grasses that act as a sea of green and then have flowers installed in clumps or as individuals to add seasonal color. This approach also make the garden look great into and through winter.
In selected plants, you’ll also want to make sure you get the right heights as well as types. For example, Joe Pye is a super beautiful native plant that does very well in rain gardens, but it gets tall (in some cases 4 to 7ft tall). This means it can block views from inside or obstruct sight lines in your yard. It’s something to consider with the design.
Performance
If you build the rain garden correctly, you can manage nearly all of the rainwater coming off your roof or driveway. This means hundreds, if not thousands, of gallons of runoff will be dealt with in a more natural way. You will be actually doing your part to help the environment. Plus, with the right plants, you will see butterflies, bees and birds visiting your yard.
In selected plants, you’ll also want to make sure you get the right heights as well as types. For example, Joe Pye is a super beautiful native plant that does very well in rain gardens, but it gets tall (in some cases 4 to 7ft tall). This means it can block views from inside or obstruct sight lines in your yard. It’s something to consider with the design.
Performance
If you build the rain garden correctly, you can manage nearly all of the rainwater coming off your roof or driveway. This means hundreds, if not thousands, of gallons of runoff will be dealt with in a more natural way. You will be actually doing your part to help the environment. Plus, with the right plants, you will see butterflies, bees and birds visiting your yard.
Students from Seton Hall University weeding and planting the Rain Park in South Orange, NJ
Of course, rain gardens do need to be maintained. Weeding and plant replacement will be a yearly activity, and for the first two years, you may need to use sprinklers to get the plants to root. The work is worth the benefit though. You’ll be amazed as the garden matures. You might even forget that it’s a piece of infrastructure, because you’re too busy admiring its beauty.
RSS Feed