Rain Gardens

Rain gardens do more than please the eye and delight the senses. They offer many environmental benefits for the sustainable gardener.

During a thunderstorm or even a gentle shower, rain falls from rooftops and gutters to paved surfaces, where it collects pollutants before running off into storm sewers and drains. The drains empty into our waterways, concentrating toxins in the water.

An ideal and easy way to filter those pollutants is to create a rain garden. A porous mixture of loam and sand allows the water to drain well without flooding, straining out toxins, metals and other pollution. The water leaches slowly into the ground, where it eventually rejoins and replenishes the water table. What remains is absorbed into the roots, stems and leaves of the rain garden’s plants.

Plant diversity is another important benefit of rain gardens. A well-designed rain garden includes a very wet, pond-like center, surrounded by a wet-dry area, and bordered by a dry area. These three “micro-climates” lend themselves to greater plant diversity than if the garden contained a single type of soil.

An incredible variety of plants can thrive in a rain garden. For the wetter and shadier areas, lily-of-the-valley and many types of fern, milkweed, mallow, sedge and jack-in-the-pulpit will do well. Medium to sunny areas can be planted with aster, marsh marigold, phlox and even river birch. Dry-sunny borders can sustain anything from bee balm to black-eyed Susan, coneflower, poppies and more.

Aside from the beauty of a rain garden, it also attracts wildlife. Salamanders, frogs, toads and garden snakes will all find their way into its special environment. Important pollinators like bees, butterflies and hummingbirds collect and spread pollen with their bodies as they forage for food.

After a rain garden is planned and planted, it will need adequate water in hot, dry weather, mulching and weeding for the first year. If a good mix of perennials is used, it will need very little work after that. All in all, a rain garden is a beautiful way to garden sustainably and to help the water supply replenish and cleanse itself locally.