How To Build A Rain Garden

Designate a spot that is at least 10 feet away from buildings and 18 feet away from a septic drain field or the edge of a steep slope.

How to build a rain garden. How to build a rain garden in 6 steps. Using a plan can help you avoid a common and costly mistake. Rain gardens can host a variety of plants to suit all kinds of garden styles. It s an environmentally friendly way to catch stormwater that runs off roofs driveways and other surfaces.

Create the rain garden by building a berm in a low spot in the yard then build swales to channel runoff from the gutters and higher parts of the yard. The water is then absorbed into the soil through the network of deep plant roots. These plants typically grow near the margin or edge of a pond and tolerate both extremes of moisture. A pretty alternative to more conventional methods of improving yard drainage a rain garden in your yard not only provides a unique and lovely feature but can also help the environment making a rain garden design for your yard is not hard.

Follow these six steps to establish a rain garden in your landscape. To make a rain garden other good plant choices include marginal plants. How to build a rain garden in 10 steps 1. To accommodate your rain garden should be about 200 square feet in size.

This front yard rain garden stages a colorful cottage garden. The ideal location for a rain garden is where the ground slopes away from a building. Rain gardens are quickly becoming popular in the home garden. The ideal spot to build a rain garden is close to the house but not too close where it can capture water running off the roof.

Most rain gardens are bean shaped. When you create a rain garden which is a shallow planted depression it collects water that slowly soaks into the soil. Use the rope to layout the size and shape of the garden. Installing a rain garden isn t difficult if you re willing to dig or you bring in machines to help.

With your location flowers and size figured out it s time to dig. A rain garden filled with wildflowers and native plants adds more than beauty to your home. Since rain gardens use native wetland plants they can make an attractive low maintenance addition to your garden. Scout out your yard for an ideal rain garden spot then dig a small basin to fill with compost and add your new plants.

Use a mix of plants adapted to your area and to the different water depths. By building a rain garden you can divert your gutter water into an attractive planting bed that works like a sponge and natural filter to clean the water and let it percolate slowly into the surrounding soil. They thrive in soggy soil but are content in dry spells too bouncing back when water becomes available again.