How to Create a Rain Garden

There’s many ways to create a sustainable, eco-friendly garden.
One of these is to create a rain garden.

A rain garden is used to reduce runoff into storm drains, and improve water quality of nearby bodies of water.

How to create one?

1. Next time it rains (today could be a good day!) watch where the
water hits from your roof, sidewalks or driveway. Pay attention to where the water tends to pool.

2. To test if water will drain dig a hole about 6’’ deep and fill it with water. The water should drain within about 12-16 hours. (If it doesn’t this might not be the best spot.)

3. The next step is to plot the size, and determine your soil type. HGTV has some useful tips on this.

4. Create your rain garden design. Here’s a few examples.

5. Next, the fun part – choose your plants!

6. Stake out the garden and dig, plant and water.

7. Arrange downspouts. They should flow into your garden. These areas often look like tiny riverbeds. The shape is less important than the depth so feel free to get creative.

Enjoy!

Posted by Beth