Rain gardens are gaining traction as one of the most popular landscaping trends of recent years. This isn’t terribly surprising. After all, rain gardens are a gorgeous, eco-friendly addition to any yard. It doesn’t hurt that they keep their surroundings well-drained, healthy, and thriving, either. Does this sound like an appealing gardening method? We thought so. That’s why we’ve put together a quick overview to help you learn about rain gardens and how to build your own.
What Is a Rain Garden?
Before delving into the steps for building a tranquil rain garden, a firm understanding of what constitutes such a unique flower bed is required. In their most basic definitions, rain gardens are specially excavated depressions in one’s yard. These gardens typically house wetland or wet-hardy plants that can benefit from or tolerate moisture influxes.
Because rain gardens are plotted on depressions, they catch about 90 percent of the rainfall a landscape receives annually. Moreover, their design allows them to capture stormwater runoff from specific areas like walkways, rooftops, or driveways.
As a result, wetland foliage flourishes, and soil drainage in your yard improves overall. Thus, it should come as no surprise that this practical and waste-reducing form of gardening continues to gain popularity. But how do you get in on this trend for yourself? We’re glad you asked.
How Do I Build One?
To build a proficient rain garden, you must ensure you have all the proper supplies. For this stage of the process, you’ll need to ensure that you have gardening tools, such as shovels, soil, and stones and sand.
You might also consider including some leaf compost on your supply list to give your plants a nutritional boost. After you have your basic supplies, it becomes a matter of following these steps for building a tranquil rain garden:
#1. Build Your Plot
Select a location (downhill from downspouts and gutters is ideal)
Test the soil (dig holes and pour water on your site to test for adequate runoff absorption)
Design the size and capacity of your garden and start digging
Create your overflow pathway (to lead the water to your rain garden)
#2. Start Filling Your Garden
Add soil, rocks, and sand to your plot
Incorporate compost if necessary
Go to the nursery and pick out some wetland plants
Plant your foliage and wait for it to rain
Once you’ve set up your rain garden, it’s crucial to maintain it and ensure it isn’t failing. This means making time to periodically weed, remove debris, and replenish your mulch as you see fit.
Plus, you’ll want to keep an eye on your plants to make sure that they’re not wilting or rotting. Both symptoms indicate that your rain garden is not functioning correctly and that you should make changes accordingly.
What Are the Benefits?
Of course, rain gardens can be a beautiful addition to any yard’s landscape. After all, they’re unique and provide numerous opportunities to plant eye-catching foliage that you typically wouldn’t get to grow in your yard. But their benefits go beyond beauty and intrigue.
For one, they’re an eco-friendly way to improve soil drainage in your yard. Plus, they give all that storm runoff somewhere to go so that it doesn’t impact the health and condition of the remainder of your landscape. Moreover, it makes good use of natural water that might otherwise go to waste.
