All About Rain Gardens
With the help of these unique landscaping elements, you can capture and use rainwater in your garden before it is flushed away into storm drains. As the name implies, a rain garden is an excavation that has been lined on one or more sides with an earthen berm to retain water.
The depression has been filled with permeable soil and native plants that are able to survive entirely on rainfall runoff. It was a desire to save water, add a natural aspect to the environment, and minimize the amount of runoff that enters municipal drainage systems that inspired the creation of these colorful beauties!
Water from a typical neighborhood’s rooftops, patio, and driveway is channeled into storm sewers, where it is disposed of in a wasteful fashion. However, by channeling rainwater from your roof gutters and drain spouts, as well as runoff from paved areas, into an earth basin, you may establish a beautiful garden that serves as an oasis for songbirds, turtles, and a variety of other critters directly after a rain event. If you follow these instructions, you’ll never have to dread another rainy day again!
All About Rain Gardens
Requirements for Soil Drainage Testing
At first glance, a rain garden seems like a natural wetland, but the surplus water should recede after a day or two as the earth underneath it absorbs the excess. This absorption prevents long-standing water from stagnating and producing mosquitoes, which would otherwise happen if the water was left to sit.
Rain gardens are ideal for most kinds of soil, with the exception of thick clay, which does not allow for proper drainage and should not be used. Drill a hole 1 foot deep and 1 foot in diameter to determine the drainage potential of your soil. Fill it halfway with water and then drain it completely.
You will have a great soil for a rain garden if the second filling drains fully within 24 hours or less after the first. if the location turns out to be inappropriate, don’t give up hope; soil composition might vary from one yard to the next, so try other spots.
Choose an Appropriate Site
A rain garden is an excellent choice for portions of your yard that are below ground level. So the next time it rains, walk outside and observe the path that the water takes to determine the best location. The downspouts on your property generate the majority of the runoff. After that, where does it go? Is there a lot of runoff from your driveway and lawn?
A rain garden should be placed in a natural drainage route, which makes sense logically. However, depending on the topography of your yard, this may not be feasible. After that, drainage should be diverted to a rain garden, either by swales (shallow grassy trenches that function as ditches to convey runoff) or underground pipes that transfer runoff from downspouts or other sources to the rain garden.
Include Overflow in Your Budget
Successful rain gardens will feature an entrance where runoff flows into the basin and an overflow exit where surplus water may be sent to the environment. Water will be diverted away from the plants via the outlet, which may be a pipe or even a cut in the side of the berm. This will prevent the plants from being vulnerable to flooding conditions.
Rain Gardens: Everything You Need to Know.
How to Choose the Proper Scale
No two rain gardens will have the same size or form since every yard is unique, with some being relatively level and others sloping steeply. While you may choose the shape of your rain garden, you should think about how the final rain garden will integrate into the surrounding environment.
Consider your yard to be a blank canvas for an artist; a huge rain garden may aesthetically overwhelm a small yard, whilst a little rain garden may seem as an afterthought in a wide expanse of space. Installing a sequence of rain gardens such that spilled water from one basin feeds the next basin is an option if you’re inventive and have adequate yard space.
Materials and plants should be chosen.
Your rain garden will be most effective if you choose plants that grow well in your climate and can withstand periods of drought as well as periods of flooding. In order to avoid having rain gardens washed away by severe rains before seeds have a chance to sprout and develop root systems, it is preferable to fill them with grown plants rather than seeds. Plants found beside rivers and seasonal stream beds in your region are good examples of this.
Plants such as decorative grasses, berries, and cattails are excellent alternatives, among others. Plant the rain garden in such a way that the plants that are most tolerant of standing water are located in the lowest parts of the garden. The placement of taller plants at the rear of the garden, where they won’t obscure the view of smaller plants, is recommended for visual enjoyment of the whole garden. For a woodsy appearance, feel free to use huge stones, petrified logs, and other natural features into your rain garden.
Construction Techniques That Work
Calling Dig Safe at (811), a free service provided by local utility companies, is the first step in creating a rain garden. It is possible that representatives may come out to your property and mark your lawn to identify the position of underground lines so that you will not disturb them when you dig. excavating the rain garden basin and the drainage system that will transport water into the rain garden basin.
For large rain gardens, renting a skid steer (from a construction rental business) is preferable since it is more efficient and less taxing on your back. However, a conventional garden shovel would do in this situation.
Drains may be used to disguise hidden pipes, or they can be simple swales that direct runoff to your rain garden, depending on your design. Excavated dirt may be used to build berms around the basin, if necessary, to assist hold water on the low margins. The inlet and overflow outlets should be placed where they will be most effective.
The basin should be filled with the adjusted soil mixture. In certain areas, pre-mixed soil combinations branded “rain garden soil” are available, but you may also make an excellent DIY mixture by mixing 50 percent sand, 25 percent compost, and 25 percent topsoil in equal parts.
In addition to the plants you picked, spread a couple of inches of excellent shredded hardwood mulch, which is heavier than softwood mulch and less prone to float away, to deter weeds and aid in the retention of moisture during droughts.
Make sure to water the young plants regularly throughout their first year to aid in the development of their root systems.
