RAIN GARDENS ... A BEAUTIFUL SOLUTION TO RUNOFF POLLUTION

Why build a rain garden? 

• Water that soaks in restores groundwater and helps prevent flooding
• A rain garden protects water quality by trapping sediment, fertilizers and other pollutants
• Restore our natural hydrology allowing more water to soak in and less water to run off

How Can You Have a Rain Garden? 

Rain Gardens: A Guide for Homeowners and Landscapers is a good book for information you need. It can help to place and design a garden. Once you have a plan in place, select the plants for your garden. Choose plants by height, bloom time, color - whatever your preference.

A typical rain garden: 

• Is a sunken garden 4-8 inches deep
• Has a flat bottom
• Is 1/3 the size of the area draining to it - usually 75-300 square feet in size
• Can be formal or informal in design
• Drains within two days, so it does not provide breeding grounds to mosquitoes
• Is planted with native plants to better infiltrate the water.

Why use native plants? 

• With roots growing down twice as deep as the plants are tall, native plants are very efficient at absorbing water.
• Also, each year, 1/3 of the roots die, providing deep tunnels for water to filter into the ground.
• Rain gardens need no additional fertilizer and little pesticides
• Native plants provide food and shelter for butterflies, song birds and other animals

The DNR has a listing of Native Plant Nurseries.

Schools may be eligible for free native plants for rain garden projects at your school site.  Email us to see if your school is eligible!