Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.
~Roger Miller
Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars... and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers - for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are.
~Osho
In wilderness I sense the miracle of life, and behind it
our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia.
~Charles A. Lindbergh, Life, 22 December 1967
Man's heart away from nature becomes hard.
~Standing Bear
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How Do I Make A Rain Garden?
As with any project the success of a rain garden will depend on how well planned it is. A well planned garden will be a functional, beautiful space, blooming with vibrant life. For gardeners creating the plant list for any new garden is the most exciting part of the planning process. Rain garden plants must be adaptable to a changing environment that is sometimes very wet and sometimes very dry. Luckily for us we only need to look to existing native wetlands to know what plants may be best suited for our rain gardens. If we use native flora we will be sure to attract native wildlife to our gardens such as birds, butterflies and frogs. For a list of native plants that are best suited to northern rain gardens click here. Using trees and shrubs in addition to perennial plants will widen the variety of birds and butterflies that you see in your gardens.Before choosing a site for your rain garden you will need to know how much rain run off you intend to control. For this you will need to do some simple calculations. First you need to figure out how much square footage you intend to capture rainwater from by measuring the approximate length and width of the run off area. Multiply the length by the width and you have the square footage. Next you need to figure out how much total water that area will create if it were to rain 3 inches (since most rainstorms are under an inch deep to use 3 inches of rain fall as your measurement will give you ample space for collection). In order to find the total amount of rainfall you will collect in a 3 inch storm you simply divide the total number of square feet by 108. The number you get from this calculation will be the total cubic yardage of water that could enter your garden in a rapid 3 inch down poor. This cubic yardage is how much earth you will need to remove from your garden site in order to control the run off effectively. Any amount of an indentation that you create in the earth can act as a rain garden. Some may want to use less depth in their garden beds for certain applications such as a boulevard rain garden. It is not necessary to excavate enough earth to control 3 inches of water if you have an additional safe place for overflow water to run to such as a gutter or yard away from a house. Let’s have a quick example. If you wanted to control the drainage from an area of your roof -top that is 20 feet wide and 30 feet long you would start by multiplying 20 by 30 to get 600. Then you divide 600 by 108 in order to find the total drainage area needed of approx. 5.5 cubic yards. Now you know that your rain garden must be sited in a space from which you can remove at least 5.5 cubic yards of earth. I always remove a little bit more soil than my total cubic yardage figure in order to accommodate for the fact that I’ll need to add in some soil amendments such as sand and compost. These amendments will take up space in the bed. So if I’m going to add in 1 cubic yard of mixed sand and compost then I’ll excavate an additional cubic yard of earth from the site. Once you figure out how much soil you need to remove you should begin to look around your property for natural drainage areas. Wherever the water naturally flows to is of course going to be the most effective and easiest spot to site your garden. If however your natural drainage areas are close to any building, or if they slope towards your building you may need to use dug in swales or drain ways for the water to flow into your garden. In order to keep from damaging the foundations of buildings slope any gardens you create away from buildings and do not create a rain garden within 10 feet of any building. Do not worry about whether the spots you chose are in the sun or shade, you will find plenty of plant choices for either.After the site has been chosen begin the installation process by removing the necessary amount of earth from the site thus creating a pond or indentation in the earth. The next thing you will want to do is to test the drainage of the newly formed garden. Get out your hose and see how quickly the water penetrates the soil. If your soil is sandy and drains very well you may only need to add compost to your new garden. If however you have soils that are compacted or clay that do not drain quickly then you will need to add in some compost and sand. Many landscaping retailers will either mix their own rain garden soils or make a custom mix for clients with specific needs. In a typical rain garden with fairly decent drainage I will usually add in a 6 inch layer of blended sand and compost. This will help assure drainage while it enriches the soil so the plants grow strong. It is important to note that whenever you add compost (and, or sand) to any new garden installation you must turn the soil over with a turning fork and thus blend the new soil with the old. Blending the compost into the existing soil not only loosens the existing soil for better drainage but also helps carry organic mater deeper into the soils to encourage root growth. Only blend your soil once, and do not use a garden tiller (EVER) as these machines kill worms and soil fungi, while at the same time loosening the soil into tiny particles that will over time re-compact the soil harder than it was before the tiller was used. After all of the planning and preparations are complete you can finally begin to layout your plants. Take your time getting to know your plant selection and imagine the plants fully grown. Make sure to purchase enough plant material to fully cover the space once grown in. Place the plants in the garden so that the taller plants are toward the back and the shorter ones toward the front. When purchasing plants make sure to check on the bloom times and purchase a variety that will extend the bloom time in your yard throughout the growing season. Taking the time now to make a rough sketch of your lay out ideas will pay off with a space that feels thoughtful and intentional.Once your rain garden is installed you may just feel driven to go stand in the rain and watch it work. Feel free! Rain gardens are exciting as they give us all an opportunity to take responsibility for our little corner of the earth and make our lives ever more beautiful. The Seed Vol. 3 May 20, 2007 A Giving Tree Gardens Newsletter
Quote of the Month
Photos and Text by Russ Henry
©2007 by Giving Tree Gardens, all rights reserved.
Giving Tree Gardens in the Co-op news!!!!!
Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. ~John Muir
NEED HELP????
Organizations that work to help residents and businesses improve water quality on their own land are springing up throughout the metro area. Minneapolis Blooms, and Capitol Region Watershed District are just two of these groups. Both of these organizations offer low cost classes and on-site evaluations that train residents to understand and create rain gardens themselves.
Plant A Garden, Save A River
Rain gardens are quickly catching on as an effective and beautiful means of controlling rainwater runoff. In Minneapolis and St. Paul our current storm water management system rushes rainwater from rooftops, parking lots, and roads directly to the Mississippi river. This rapid inflow of rainwater warms up the river causing algae to grow so fast that it deprives other aquatic life of oxygen. Along the way to the river the rainwater also picks up and brings with it substances that are harmful to the rivers health such as motor oil, fertilizer, and road salt. Residents of the twin cities are finding out that by planting rain gardens they can help deal with this problem in their own back yards. As the rain seeps slowly down the path of the plants roots in a rain garden it is filtered into underground aquifers. This natural system of filtering allows the water that passes through to be both cleaned of the toxic chemicals and cooled from the heat that it has picked up on it’s way to the garden. This clean cool water is then passed into lakes, rivers, and streams ready to sustain native aquatic animals and plants. Gardens that capture rainwater offer benefits far beyond improved water quality for the people who live near them. Perhaps equally important as the positive effect on aquatic life produced in rain gardens is the fact that when planted with native plants they become a stopping place for migrating songbirds and butterflies. These visitors bring with them an immeasurable natural and aesthetic value. When done correctly rain gardens can be a cheap and easy way of maintaining a lawn, which can add beauty and value to the property. Once a rain garden is established it won’t require any irrigation like so many gardens and lawns. Responsibly managing the water run off from any property will also minimize land erosion and structural degradation of buildings that can occur near water down spouts. Simply put, rain gardens are a beautiful, cost effective, and environmentally responsible way to maintain a property.
