Rain gardens should not be installed under large trees. Trees have extensive root systems that may be damaged in the garden excavation process. In addition, they may not be able to adapt to the extra moisture being held by your rain garden. Make yourself aware of underground service lines or utilities.
Call "Dig Safe" at for information about underground utilities. Soils and drainage Rain gardens work best when constructed in well-drained or sandy soils, but they can also be installed on sites with less permeable soils such as clays. There are three signs of an impermeable soil: The site ponds water or remains saturated for several days after a storm event. The soil shows signs of being a wetland soil gray soil with ribbons or areas of brown color within 1 foot of the surface.
Water poured in the test hole is still there after two days, provided it has not rained. How large should the rain garden be? Drainage Area Required Size of Rain Garden 6" deep Potential Rain Garden Dimensions ft x ft Required Size of Rain Garden 3" deep Potential Rain Garden Dimensions ft x ft ft 2 40 ft 2 4x10, 5x8, 6x7 80 ft 2 7x12, 8x10, 9x9 ft 2 50 ft 2 5x10, 6x8 ft 2 7x15, 10x10 ft 2 60 ft 2 4x15, 5x12, 6x10, 8x8 ft 2 10x12, 8x15 ft 2 70 ft 2 5x14, 7x10 ft 2 10x14, 7x20 ft 2 80 ft 2 7x12, 8x10, 9x9 ft 2 8x20, 10x16 ft 2 90 ft 2 6x15, 7x13, 8x12, 9x10 ft 2 9x20, 10x18, 12x15 ft 2 ft 2 7x15, 10x10 ft 2 10x20, 14x15 ft 2 ft 2 8x16, 10x13 ft 2 10x25, 13x20, 15x17 ft 2 ft 2 10x15, 12x13 ft 2 10x30, 15x20 ft 2 ft 2 8x16, 10x13 ft 2 14x25, 18x20 ft 2 ft 2 9x20, 12x15 ft 2 16x25, 20x20 ft 2 ft 2 10x25, 13x20, 15x17 ft 2 20x25 Installing the rain garden Once you feel confident in the placement of the garden, lay out the shape to define where to dig.
Planting the rain garden While rain gardens are a highly functional way to help protect water quality, they are also gardens and should be an attractive part of your yard and neighborhood. Annabelle has large flower heads; cv. Geranium spp. Daylily Sun to part shade Moist to dry 2'-3' Summer Many colors; extend season with early, mid, and late blooming cultivars; drought tolerant Heuchera spp. Coral bells Part shade to sun Moist 1' Mulch annually to suppress weeds and to keep soils moist, which allows for easy infiltration of stormwater; un-mulched surfaces may develop into a hardpan, which impedes water infiltration.
Before applying new mulch, remove the old mulch. Alternately, loosen up the old mulch with a rake and just top dress it with new mulch. The depth of the mulch should never exceed 3". Weed your garden, especially during plant establishment; newly planted species may have a tough time competing with weeds. Once plants become established, less weeding will be required. The plants in your rain garden will need to be watered regularly during establishment to ensure healthy growth.
Once established, plants should be watered in long periods of drought. Water deeply once or twice a week; avoid frequent shallow watering. Keep your garden healthy and clean.
Rain gardens should be periodically cleared of dead vegetation and any debris that may collect. Replanting may be necessary over time. If a plant is not doing so well in one location of the garden, it may have to be moved to a wetter or dryer area. Enjoy your rain garden and your contribution to water quality in your neighborhood.
North Carolina Cooperative Extension. Printer-friendly version. Envirothon Mass. Herp Atlas Mass. NetId Login. Graceful small tree; green or red leaves, some with deeply dissected leaves; excellent fall color. Tolerates wet feet or upland site; interesting catkins; beautiful peeling bark; yellow fall color. Tolerates sun if soil is moist; tolerates periodic flooding; unique fluted silver-gray bark; yellow, red, or orange fall color.
Resistant to dogwood anthracnose; large white bracts appear after the foliage; reddish purple fall color. Large white fragrant flowers; small multi-stemmed tree; red berries; semi-evergreen; will tolerate wet soils. Tolerates seasonal flooding or dry, rocky uplands; blue-black berries taken by birds; brilliant scarlet fall color.
White flowers with red stamens; bright red, edible berries persist in winter; salmon to scarlet fall color. Tolerates irregular flooding or dry sites; yellow fragrant strap-like flowers; yellow fall color. Creamy white flowers on new wood; cv. White Dome is a lace-cap type.
Large panicles of white flowers turn to pink by fall; blooms on new wood; many cultivars available. Pyramidal white flower heads age to mauve; large oak-shaped leaves with deep red fall color; shaggy reddish bark is attractive. Cultivars are better than the species; 'Diablo' has purple foliage while 'Dart's Gold' has yellow foliage; drought tolerant. Creamy white flowers are followed by bright red berries which change to black, relished by birds.
Trumpet shaped light blue flowers, delicate bottlebrush leaves give this plant an attractive, shrub-like appearance; leaves turn a beautiful yellow in fall. Prairie grass with purple flowers; blue-green blades turn tawny in fall; tolerant of acid soil, sandy soil, flooding and drought.
Good for dry shade or moist woods; white flowers attract butterflies; attractive massed at woodland edge. Indigo-blue showy flowers on blue-green, compound foliage make a striking show; effect is shrub-like. Decreased oxygen levels have proven to produce declines in fish populations and overall decreases in aquatic species diversity.
To reduce stormwater runoff from your property look at your property and identify where the water goes. A rain garden should be positioned near a runoff source like a downspout, driveway or sump pump to capture rainwater runoff and stop the water from reaching the sewer system.
An individual rain garden may seem like a small thing, but collectively they produce substantial neighborhood and community environmental benefits. The construction of a rain garden is a task that an average homeowner can undertake with a bit of guidance.
One of the keys to a successful rain garden is chosing plants that not only soak up excess water, but are also drought and heat tolerant.
Midwestern plants that grow in clay soils fit that criteria. Prairie Nursery offers a selection of pre-planned rain gardens in various sizes and for various soil conditions. Above all, a rain garden is a landscape amenity, blending beauty and function—an attractive WaterSmart solution to water pollution.
Download a printer-friendly version of this publication: Rain Gardens. Contact Your County Office. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. JavaScript appears to be disabled on this computer. Please click here to see any active alerts. 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. Rain gardens can also help filter out pollutants in runoff and provide food and shelter for butterflies, song birds and other wildlife. More complex rain gardens with drainage systems and amended soils are often referred to as bioretention.
Note: Refer to the links in this section for important tips on how to locate your rain garden.
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