Building a Rain Garden in Your Yard
Can Be a Win-Win For Everyone
by Joy Smith
A rain garden can be a beautiful way to control runoff in your yard. We will learn more in a follow-up article about how to build a rain garden and what beautiful plants you can use, but let’s get started now with talking about why a rain garden is a win-win project for everyone.
We all have water that runs off our roof, our driveway, and our other impermeable surfaces. Watching water run swiftly down your driveway can be fun to watch, unless it is running into your garage or where you need to walk. Runoff is also a nuisance if it is washing away the mulch you just bought and put down, washing away your expensive grass seed, or making gullies in your golf cart and walking paths. What if the water is sitting on your sidewalk and you have to get your feet wet to get in or out of your house? Well, maybe we can direct the water to our neighbors’ yard. I have seen this done, but that is rather unkind and there are better ways. If we can stop the runoff from being a nuisance it is a definite win for us and a rain garden can do this.
A rain garden can be environmentally friendly. Rain gardens are built to encourage runoff to seep back into the ground, where it is naturally filtered, rather than running directly into storm drains or natural bodies of water like rivers, streams and lakes. Runoff can contain pollutants such as fertilizer and motor oil that it picks up on its journey off your roof, down your street or through your yard. So what can we do? You guessed it, build a rain gardens to help prevent runoff from pouring those pollutants directly into our drinking water and recreational areas.
You may have noticed that rain gardens are being built in many commercial developments like office building, schools and shopping centers. If you have not noticed, start looking around, they are there. This is happening because these projects often have very large impermeable surfaces that generate a lot of runoff. So once again, the rain gardens serve a purpose and they add interest to the landscape. I am always interested in them when I see them.
Finally, I just like doing things that make me feel like a good citizen. How about you? I bet you feel the same way. So building a rain garden in your yard can be a win for you and a win for our water. Did I peak your interest? If so, look for another installment, “How to Build a Rain Garden” in the next edition of The Garden Path.
If you can’t wait for that and want to learn more now check out all this resource: https://forsyth.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/RGmanual2015.pdf
Can Be a Win-Win For Everyone
by Joy Smith
A rain garden can be a beautiful way to control runoff in your yard. We will learn more in a follow-up article about how to build a rain garden and what beautiful plants you can use, but let’s get started now with talking about why a rain garden is a win-win project for everyone.
We all have water that runs off our roof, our driveway, and our other impermeable surfaces. Watching water run swiftly down your driveway can be fun to watch, unless it is running into your garage or where you need to walk. Runoff is also a nuisance if it is washing away the mulch you just bought and put down, washing away your expensive grass seed, or making gullies in your golf cart and walking paths. What if the water is sitting on your sidewalk and you have to get your feet wet to get in or out of your house? Well, maybe we can direct the water to our neighbors’ yard. I have seen this done, but that is rather unkind and there are better ways. If we can stop the runoff from being a nuisance it is a definite win for us and a rain garden can do this.
A rain garden can be environmentally friendly. Rain gardens are built to encourage runoff to seep back into the ground, where it is naturally filtered, rather than running directly into storm drains or natural bodies of water like rivers, streams and lakes. Runoff can contain pollutants such as fertilizer and motor oil that it picks up on its journey off your roof, down your street or through your yard. So what can we do? You guessed it, build a rain gardens to help prevent runoff from pouring those pollutants directly into our drinking water and recreational areas.
You may have noticed that rain gardens are being built in many commercial developments like office building, schools and shopping centers. If you have not noticed, start looking around, they are there. This is happening because these projects often have very large impermeable surfaces that generate a lot of runoff. So once again, the rain gardens serve a purpose and they add interest to the landscape. I am always interested in them when I see them.
Finally, I just like doing things that make me feel like a good citizen. How about you? I bet you feel the same way. So building a rain garden in your yard can be a win for you and a win for our water. Did I peak your interest? If so, look for another installment, “How to Build a Rain Garden” in the next edition of The Garden Path.
If you can’t wait for that and want to learn more now check out all this resource: https://forsyth.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/RGmanual2015.pdf
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