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Designing and planting a rain garden is very similar to creating other perennial gardens, with a few, very important, exceptions (location, size, and soil amendments for proper infiltration).
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Rain gardens are depressional areas (between four and eight inches deep) designed to catch rainwater from impervious surfaces (such as a roof, sidewalk, street, etc.) and infiltrate it into the ground rather than letting it flow to the storm drain. Because of the amount of impervious surfaces in our growing communities and the lack of native vegetation, rain gardens are becoming increasingly important to help control water quality. Location: It is best to keep them away from building foundations, utilities and septic systems, but otherwise, they can be located anywhere water flows from impervious areas. Often, this is at the end of a roof gutter or drain spout, as a buffer between the lawn and the street.
Size: You can calculate the appropriate size for a rain garden based on the following measurements (they are typically 5 to 10 percent the size of the impervious area that runoff flows from).
Soil Mix: It is very important that you use a mix of soil that will feed the plants as well as allow water to infiltrate. It is not enough to dig up the existing soil, put your plants in and then expect the rain garden to do its job. If the soil is compacted, water will not soak in and your rain garden will be useless. A good soil mixture is 65% sand, 15% topsoil and 25% compost. It is also important to include mulch, such as shredded wood, for moisture retention and weed control.
Other Sources of Rain Garden Information:
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