You can make an important contribution to reduce the amount of stormwater and pollutants coming from your property by incorporating rain gardens into your yard.
What is a rain garden?
Basically, a rain garden acts like a native forest by collecting, absorbing, and filtering stormwater runoff from roof tops, driveways, patios, and other areas that don't allow water to soak in. Rain gardens are simply shallow depressions in your yard that:
Can be shaped and sized to fit your yard.
Are constructed with soil mixes that allow water to soak in rapidly and support healthy plant growth.
Can be landscaped with a variety of plants to fit the surroundings.
Reduce flooding on neighboring property, overflow in sewers, and erosion in streams by absorbing water from impervious surfaces.
Filter oil and grease from driveways, pesticides and fertilizers from lawns, and other pollutants before they reach the storm drain and eventually streams, wetlands, lakes and marine waters.
Increase the amount of water that soaks into the ground to recharge local groundwater.
Provide habitat for beneficial insects and birds.
The Big Picture
Rain gardens are one of the most versatile and effective tools in a new approach to managing stormwater called low impact development (LID). An LID project may incorporate several tools to soak up rain water, reduce stormwater runoff, and filter pollutants. Some examples of these tools include permeable paving, rainwater collection and harvesting systems, rain barrels, and rain gardens.
Contact Mark The Pond Guy today to talk about the benefits of adding a rain garden to your landscape, as well as to set up a consultation to talk about installation and design. Call him at (253) 905-5440 or email him at mark@markthepondguy.com today!
