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Anybody built a rain garden
Posted on 3/20/20 at 10:29 pm
Posted on 3/20/20 at 10:29 pm
I have an area in my house that is collecting lot of rain water. I thought of french drain and sump pump. But the location is long way away from storm drain.
Now I'm thinking of rain garden. Anyone have done this? Is this even a good idea?
Now I'm thinking of rain garden. Anyone have done this? Is this even a good idea?
This post was edited on 3/20/20 at 10:32 pm
2
Posted on 3/20/20 at 11:58 pm to glorymanutdtiger
Looked into it. Have what I think is a nice little consumer reference, how to, book “Rain Gardening in the South” Helen Kraus & Anne Spafford, horticultural profs at NC State. Where you located? In Baton Rouge, Hill Top Arboretum has demo rain garden. If you are near an arboretum they might have one. I think it’s a good idea if done properly.
Posted on 3/21/20 at 10:15 am to CrawDude
Yeah very close to hilltop. They are probably closed due to coronavirus
Posted on 3/22/20 at 12:37 pm to glorymanutdtiger
From the Houston Chronicle:
I might try this since I've got a really low spot that holds several inches of water.
Is the idea that I don't build it up at all??
quote:
For your rain garden
Flowering plants: Turk's cap, Mexican petunia (ruellia), black-eyed Susan, yarrow, swamp milkweed, butterfly weed, canna, purple coneflower, daylily, spider lily, swamp ginger, Mexican mint marigold, lamb's ear, bee balm, 'Red Star' hibiscus, and a few varieties of iris including Louisiana and bearded
Shrubs and small trees: American beauty berry, yaupon, dwarf palmetto, possumhaw holly and Southern wax myrtle
Big trees: Southern swamp maple, river birch, bald cypress, pawpaw, and various native hawthorns.
Other plants: Many ornamental and native grasses do well in rain gardens, such as switchgrass, Indian grass and sedge. crossvine and Carolina jessamine work in both wet and dry conditions.
I might try this since I've got a really low spot that holds several inches of water.
Is the idea that I don't build it up at all??
This post was edited on 3/22/20 at 12:38 pm
Posted on 3/22/20 at 1:47 pm to bayoubengals88
The book I referenced goes into this in detail but because it was written by a couple NC State University profs, I checked NC State’s website to see if they might have a fact sheet and found this nice 12 page fact sheet Backyard Rain Garden. I think it should answer your questions.
A rain garden is meant to be a temporarily impoundment to water until it can seep into the soil, evaporate, and be used by the plants. I know if I were to build one in my yard, with the heavy clay soils I have I’d be looking at a 3 day+ water retention planting scenario described in the fact sheet.
Ultimately I didn’t build one as I determined I could move water off the lawn with some relatively simple grading, and and a couple sub-surface drain lines and I already had a sub-surface drain to the street I could tie into.
But I like the idea, it’s a simple, practical concept, and I came close to making one. Certainly might be a practical alternative to some.
A rain garden is meant to be a temporarily impoundment to water until it can seep into the soil, evaporate, and be used by the plants. I know if I were to build one in my yard, with the heavy clay soils I have I’d be looking at a 3 day+ water retention planting scenario described in the fact sheet.
Ultimately I didn’t build one as I determined I could move water off the lawn with some relatively simple grading, and and a couple sub-surface drain lines and I already had a sub-surface drain to the street I could tie into.
But I like the idea, it’s a simple, practical concept, and I came close to making one. Certainly might be a practical alternative to some.
Posted on 3/22/20 at 9:53 pm to CrawDude
I don’t have a way to tie into drains without going 100 feet of digging. That’s the main reason I’m considering the rain garden. Thank you for the material Crawdude
This post was edited on 3/22/20 at 9:53 pm
Posted on 3/23/20 at 8:22 am to CrawDude
That's a great material. It even lays out the plants you want to plant 
:bow:
:bow:
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