A rain garden is a landscape feature that is specifically designed and built to receive and hold a certain amount of stormwater for a short period, allowing much of it to infiltrate, and the excess to flow safely to a designated site. There are formulas to follow and soil mixes to use and guides for which plants to use.
A Rain Garden by a House
A rain garden can add interest and beauty to your property and can serve as a focal point for your design or can screen an unwanted view. Plants of different varieties and sizes soften the edges of the garden and help the water infiltrate faster. Native plants are used that can tolerate extremes of wet and dry and these create a habitat for birds and beneficial insects.
An example of a large rain garden in the Reedy Creek Watershed is at the Patrick Henry School, near the entrance to the parking lot and adjacent to the slope leading to Reedy Creek in Forest Hill Park.
Another, designed by Charlene Harper of Timmons Group in cooperation with Reedy Creek Coalition and the Alliance, is being installed at Miles J. Jones Elementary School at the headwaters of Reedy Creek.. This garden will be planted on October 20 by Hands on Greater Richmond volunteers and volunteers from Reedy Creek Coalition and Richmond Tree Stewards. You can sign up to volunteer here: http://www.handsonrva.org/HOC__Volunteer_Opportunity_Details_Page?id=a0CA000000JYTJLMA5 (few spaces remaining).
Do you live in the Reedy Creek watershed? Are you interested in installing a rain garden on your property? Do you want someone to help cover the costs? Sign up for a free Watershed Protection Audit here: https://reedycreekcoalition.org/watershed-audits/. If, after conducting the audit, we recommend a rain garden for your property, we can help cover the costs of a “do-it-yourself” rain garden or of a contractor installed rain garden. Check out https://reedycreekcoalition.org/financial-incentive-program/ for more details on our Financial Incentive Program. Also, don’t forget to check out our resource links on the side of the page for more information on rain gardens and other practices.
Rain Garden under Installation in a Front Yard
Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/reedycreekcoalition to keep up with volunteer activities and share your watershed protection story!
Leave a Reply