Rain Gardens
Background on stormwater
Rain Garden Initiative of Toledo-Lucas County
Designing your Rain Garden
How do you create the rain garden bed?
What kinds of plants are good for rain gardens?
Maintaining your Beautiful Rain Garden
Background on stormwater
When asked where rain or snow goes after it falls to the ground, most people will say that it soaks into the ground or flows into the gutter. Few people understand what happens to stormwater once it is out of sight, or how changes in the landscape can affect water quality, flooding, and drinking water. As development occurs, precipitation that once soaked into the ground runs off of pavement and other hard surfaces, carrying contaminants that have collected on these surfaces, including oil, grease, lawn chemicals, heavy metals, bacteria, and sediment. It is well documented that the problems associated with stormwater runoff have a major impact on Great Lakes water quality. Algal blooms, high bacteria content, beach closures, and increased flooding and erosion are only some of the problems caused by stormwater runoff. Instead of being treated like a resource, rain and snowmelt are transformed into contaminated runoff and funneled into storm drains like a waste product.
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By planting a rain garden, you can help solve some of our stormwater problems. The deep, loose soil in your rain garden will soak up water that would otherwise leave your property. Rain gardens come in all shapes and sizes, can be designed for any site, are easy to install and maintain, will beautify your landscape, and attract birds and butterflies. You can easily create a simple rain garden in a weekend, for little cost if you use plants you already have.
Rain Garden Initiative of Toledo-Lucas County
In the summer of 2006, citizens in Toledo and Lucas County sustained heavy flooding from a series of rainstorms. The rainwater from these storms exceeded the capacity of the ditches and storm sewers on which the area depends to collect stormwater and transport it safely to our rivers and lakes. The volume of stormwater is increased in urban areas like Toledo because we have impervious surfaces like parking lots, roads and buildings that cause the water to run off instead of being absorbed into the ground. In response, our Congresswoman, Marcy Kaptur, suggested that we need to find ways to encourage the infiltration of storm water into the ground instead of trying to build bigger and better ditches and sewers in Toledo and Lucas County. She was inspired by an effort to build 10,000 rain gardens in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Toledo-Lucas County Rain Garden Initiative will introduce the idea of rain gardens to homeowners, developers, nurseries and landscapers, business owners, and governmental agencies and assist them in constructing rain gardens as a way to manage stormwater by providing demonstration gardens, technical training and public information and involvement. It offers opportunities for homeowners and organizations to be reimbursed for materials and plants used in their newly created rain gardens. Please see the website for more information on grant opportunities: www.raingardeninitiative.org.
Designing your Rain Garden
Where should you put your rain garden?
You can locate a rain garden almost anywhere, but consider these things about placement.
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Be sure your rain garden is downhill and at least ten feet from building foundations. Place your rain garden away from underground utilities or easements. You want water in gardens, not basements, and you do not want to accidentally dig up a gas line. It is a good idea to have utilities flagged before starting to dig.
The easiest place to put a rain garden is where water is already going, in a low spot where water naturally collects. If you aren’t sure of where that is, run a hose on the lawn and watch where water flows. If this is an attractive place for a garden, you can design it there. You can also direct water to that spot through an underground tile, construct a dry streambed lined with gravel, or use some other creative method.
The best place to put your rain garden is where you will get a good view of it. The most practical place is to design it into your existing landscaping. On a slope, it can be behind or in front of a retaining wall, or simply in a scallop cut into the slope. The surface of the rain garden should be fairly level, to hold water. You can also create a berm around the rain garden to hold water in.
How do you create the rain garden bed?
Soil preparation leads to wonderful success!
Soil around your home is compacted during construction, reducing its ability to absorb water. Your rain garden restores this natural function.
Your rain garden will need deep, absorbent soil to soak up water. The easiest way to accomplish this is to remove the existing soil and replace it with a light, loose mixture. One recommended mix is 50-60% sand, 20-30% compost and 20-30% topsoil. To make sure water gathers in your garden, make the garden saucer or dish-shaped instead of mounded, with a dip about six to eight inches deep. The sponge-like soil will do the rest.
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The characteristics of local soils also affect your rain garden. If the surrounding soils do not absorb much water, make sure your rain garden can soak up the volume of water you plan to send there. You don’t want to create a pond or a mudpie! The water collected should be able to soak into the garden within a few hours.
Remember, the surface of the rain garden needs to be level or slightly dipped, so water will not run out and will spread evenly as it soaks into the soil. You can use a strip level to help you create this feature.
What kinds of plants are good for rain gardens?
Rain gardens feature easy-care perennial plants that do well in a wide range of growing conditions.
Native species are highly recommended for rain gardens, and provide wildlife habitat as well as natural beauty. Wildflowers, ferns, grasses, and even shrubs and trees are used in rain gardens.
Find a local nursery, botanical garden, or other horticultural group that can advise you on the right plants for your particular site and climate. Do not choose aggressive species of plants that you will need to divide frequently.
You can design your own rain garden, use an existing plan, or hire a professional to create your rain garden layout. Seeded or naturalistic rain gardens are economical and function well, but some people find them inappropriate in formal settings.
Maintaining your Beautiful Rain Garden
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Care for your rain garden regularly. Simple maintenance is required to keep your rain garden looking beautiful and functioning well.
Water: Water daily the first few weeks after planting, then regularly until plants are established. Later on, water in a drought if this is practical.
Weed: Weed on a regular basis, especially the first year. If you label your plants, this helps you tell the weeds from the flowers.
Mulch: A two to three inch layer of double shredded hardwood mulch reduces weeding and watering and helps establish the plants. It also prevents surface sealing of the rain garden, and removes specific pollutants from pavement runoff. Avoid using barkchips, which float.
Fertilize: Should not be necessary. Native plants should thrive in the prepared soil mix. Avoid use of herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides in and around the rain garden. Compose makes a good soil amendment for rain gardens.
For more information, visit the links below:
Catching the Rain: A Great Lakes Resource Guide for Natural Stormwater Management – American Rivers
Rain Garden Initiative of Toledo-Lucas County brochure
