.jpg)
Timely Topics
If you have noticed a spot on your property that is prone to having standing water or that shows signs of receiving signif icant run-off during a storm event, you might consider a ‘rain garden’. A rain garden is a landscaped area specially designed to collect rainfall and manage stormwater runoff. It is a planted shallow depression that temporarily holds storm runoff and snow melt until it evaporates, is absorbed by the plants, or infiltrates into the ground. The plants, microorganisms, and soil in the rain garden act as a filter to clean pollutants from the runoff. Slowing the movement of runoff water can benefit our topsoil and ground water as well as diminish the demands on our storm water systems.
If you have an area you think is suited for a rain garden, careful planning with adherence to some important design principles can help ensure the rain garden is successful and accomplishes all it can to capture and utilize storm water. Ideally, most rain gardens will have a natural or constructed berm that can be as low as six-inches. Even a small elongated mound of soil at the lowest point or outlet of the rain garden area can do a lot to maximize water retention and utilization.
Another important consideration of rain garden design is the selection of plants. Virginia Cooperative Extension and Virginia Department of Forestry have excellent resources online and in print that provide guidance on plant selection. Plant selection ideally provides an overhead canopy, a mid layer of perennials, and a ground cover. There is a wide range of native plants adapted to Virginia and well suited to a rain garden. Generally, the early spring is the most common time to plant a rain garden but fall establishment can be an option and planning now can help ensure all the design elements are in-place whenever you decide to install your rain garden.
Online resources can be found through your favored internet search engine by entering “Virginia Rain Gardens VCE VDOF”. Excellent printed resources are available through the Rockbridge Extension office and much of the content of this column is taken directly from these publications. These resources list suitable plants and have specific guidance for designing and establishing a rain garden.
For more information on rain gardens, call the Rockbridge Extension office at (540) 463-4734 or send email to [email protected].
