Table of Contents
What is a rain garden and how does it work?
A rain garden is a depressed area in the landscape that collects rain water from a roof, driveway or street and allows it to soak into the ground. Planted with grasses and flowering perennials, rain gardens can be a cost effective and beautiful way to reduce runoff from your property.
What does a rain garden consist of?
A rain garden is a garden of native shrubs, perennials, and flowers planted in a small depression, which is generally formed on a natural slope. It is designed to temporarily hold and soak in rain water runoff that flows from roofs, driveways, patios or lawns.
What are the benefits of a rain garden?
Filter pollutants from runoff, • Recharge groundwater, • Conserve water, • Protect guts, ponds and coastal waters, • Remove standing water in your yard, • Reduce mosquito breeding, • Increase beneficial insects that eliminate pests, • Reduce potential of home flooding, • Create habitat for birds & butterflies, •.
What do you mean by rain garden?
A raingarden is a garden area deliberately planted in order to deal with the water which runs off roofs, driveways and other hard surfaces in periods of heavy rain. They often contain flower or vegetable beds with underlying sandy soil which helps water filter away.
How do you build a simple rain garden?
Create the rain garden by building a berm in a low spot in the yard, then build swales to channel runoff from the gutters and higher parts of the yard. The water is then absorbed into the soil through the network of deep plant roots. Use a mix of plants adapted to your area and to the different water depths.
Do rain gardens attract mosquitoes?
Will a Rain Garden Attract Mosquitoes? Water should stand in a rain garden no longer than 24 hours after the rain stops. Mosquitoes cannot complete their breeding cycle in this length of time, so a rain garden should not increase mosquito populations.
Are rain gardens expensive?
The cost associated with installing residential rain gardens average about three to four dollars per square foot, depending on soil conditions and the density and types of plants used in the installation. Commercial, industrial and institutional site costs can range between ten to forty dollars per square foot.
How do I site a rain garden?
Choose a Location Downhill from the runoff source (i.e., downhill from your roof downspout if collecting water from the roof) On a flat or gently sloped area. In an area that has decent drainage; a rain garden returns water slowly into the soil, so it’s important that the native soil in your chosen spot not be soggy.
Why do people have rain gardens?
Rain gardens perform the following functions: filter stormwater runoff before it enters local waterways, alleviates problems associated with flooding and drainage, recharges the ground water supply, provides habitat and food for wildlife, including birds and butterflies, and enhances the beauty of yards and the Aug 27, 2010.
What are the different types of rain gardens?
Rain gardens are a type of water capture feature in landscaping that helps slow and absorb runoff from storms. Other types of naturalized bioretention methods include stormwater planters, green gutters, downspout planters, stormwater trees, and tree trenches.
How do rain gardens improve water quality?
Rain gardens use the concept of bioretention, a water quality practice in which plants and soils filter pollutants from stormwater. By capturing runoff in shallow depressions and letting it soak into the ground, rainwater gardens also help recharge stores of groundwater in aquifers.
Are rain gardens worth it?
Rain gardens can be a low-cost, effective, and beautiful way to reduce the amount of stormwater run-off that may wash pollutants from your property into storm drains and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
How deep should my rain garden be?
A typical rain garden is between four and eight inches deep. A rain garden much less than four inches deep will need an excessive amount of surface area to provide enough water storage to infiltrate the larger storms.
How do you make a rain garden for kids?
Rain gardens capture runoff and allow it to seep slowly into the ground.How to build a rain garden Find a suitable location for your garden. Figure out the best size for your rain garden. Plan and then stake out the garden area. Dig out the garden area to the desired depth. You’re ready to plant!.
Can you plant a garden next to your house?
Yes, planting a fruit or vegetable garden next to your house is a very good idea – even better if you do it on a raised bed. You won’t have to worry about weeds, you’ll have more control over the soil, and most importantly, it’ll be convenient.
What soaks up water in yard?
In order to make your lawn more amenable to water absorption, work organic matter into your soil. Garden compost, leaf mold and manure will all open the soil up and create more minute channels through which water can escape. Dig. For hardpan problems, a shovel may be the best solution.
How are rain gardens used?
A rain garden is a system that collects water from paving, hard surfaces, roofs, and puts it through a filtering mechanism that removes nutrients and pollutants. The water can then be used to irrigate the garden or, can pass through the filtering system and be released into the drainage system.
Do rain gardens attract insects?
While these rain gardens look beautiful, they can attract unwanted pests like rodents and insects. The rain garden provides added food, water, and shelter – the three biggest attractants for pests. If these branches touch your house it can act as a highway for insects like ants, cockroaches, spiders, and more.
How big is a rain garden?
A rain garden should have an area about 20% the size of the roof, patio, or pavement area draining into it. A typical rain garden for a residential home or small building is between 100 and 400 square feet. Regardless of the size, big or small, each rain garden can make an impact.
What is the difference between a bioswale and a rain garden?
Rain Gardens versus Bioswales The main difference is that the bioswale moves water to somewhere else in the garden, while also allowing some (but not all) of it to infiltrate. A rain garden is specifically meant to increase infiltration. Bioswales are often used to convey water to a rain garden.
How do you build a rain garden in clay soil?
Try using a 2:1 ratio of the drainage area to the surface area of your garden (most rain gardens in better soils use approximately a 4:1 ratio). For instance, if your garden will be draining a 200 sq. ft. of rooftop, plan the surface area of your garden to be 100 sq.
How do you build a rain garden?
Create the rain garden by building a berm in a low spot in the yard, then build swales to channel runoff from the gutters and higher parts of the yard. The water is then absorbed into the soil through the network of deep plant roots. Use a mix of plants adapted to your area and to the different water depths.
How does a rain garden benefits?
Rain gardens perform the following functions: filter stormwater runoff before it enters local waterways, alleviates problems associated with flooding and drainage, recharges the ground water supply, provides habitat and food for wildlife, including birds and butterflies, and enhances the beauty of yards and the Aug 27, 2010.
Are rain gardens good?
Rain gardens are a very good option to help lower the impact of impervious surfaces and polluted runoff because they are low-tech, inexpensive, sustainable and aesthetically pleasing.
Do you have to water a rain garden?
Maintenance. Rain garden require about as much maintenance as a standard landscaped bed. In the first year weeding, watering, and raking mulch is about the extent of the maintenance for your rain garden.
How far is rain garden from house?
The rain garden should be at least 10 feet from the house so infiltrating water doesn’t seep into the foundation. Do not place the rain garden directly over a septic system.
Is rain water good for vegetable garden?
Based on study results, rain barrel water can be safely utilized to irrigate a vegetable/herb garden. Pathogen treatment should be conducted and best practices utilized when applying the water.
Can I plant in rain?
Planting. One common concern that puts people off gardening when it’s wet is whether you can really plant in the rain. In actual fact, it’s fine – as long as there’s no standing water. For new seedlings, planting in the rain can be of great benefit since you don’t have to worry about watering them.
How big does a rain garden need to be?
A rain garden should have an area about 20% the size of the roof, patio, or pavement area draining into it. A typical rain garden for a residential home or small building is between 100 and 400 square feet. Regardless of the size, big or small, each rain garden can make an impact.
What is the purpose of a Bioswale?
Bioswales are storm water runoff conveyance sys- tems that provide an alternative to storm sewers. They can absorb low flows or carry runoff from heavy rains to storm sewer inlets or directly to sur- face waters.
Do rain gardens work in winter?
Will my rain garden still work in the winter? Even though the plants are dormant in winter, the rain garden will still absorb water. The ponding area stores some runoff even if the ground is frozen.
