What is the purpose of the rain gardens?

What is the purpose of the rain gardens?

A rain garden is a depressed area in the landscape that collects rain water from a roof, driveway or street and allows it to soak into the ground. Planted with grasses and flowering perennials, rain gardens can be a cost effective and beautiful way to reduce runoff from your property.

Why is rainwater so good for the garden?

Rainwater also contains more oxygen that tap water. When this acidic rainwater reaches the soil, it helps to release micronutrients such as zinc, manganese, copper and iron that are essential to plant growth but are mostly locked up in our local soil, which typically registers a neutral to alkaline pH.

How do rain gardens prevent erosion?

WATER RETENTION: Preventing soil erosion is not only for cropland, but also for the farmstead. Rain gardens that incorporate native plants and water retention can help. They slow down, capture and absorb water into the ground, reducing runoff that can overload streams and cause flooding.

Why are rain gardens bad?

Heavy metals: Soil and mulch in rain gardens contain particles that will adsorb and hold metals including copper, cadmium, lead, and zinc. A small fraction of the metals are sucked into plant roots and vegetation. While metals are not degraded in rain gardens, they’re present at very low levels.

What are 3 benefits of rain gardens?

Rain garden benefits include pollution control, flooding protection, habitat creation and water conservation.

How effective are rain gardens?

Rain gardens are effective in removing up to 90% of nutrients and chemicals and up to 80% of sediments from the rainwater runoff. Compared to a conventional lawn, rain gardens allow for 30% more water to soak into the ground. Because rain gardens will drain within 12-48 hours, they prevent the breeding of mosquitoes.

Is tap water OK for garden?

So, although rain water may be preferred, watering your garden with chlorinated city water won’t cause your plants to fail. Your organic fertilizers won’t come to a screeching halt. SALTS – Tap water may contain several types of salts. This won’t kill your plants in healthy concentrations.

Do rain gardens help with erosion?

Rain gardens, bioswales and beneficial vegetative buffers are all recommended approaches to help fix and prevent erosion and limit nutrients from reaching our lakes and ponds. Floating islands ultimately help capture excess nutrients that do manage to reach our waterbodies.

Do rain gardens need sun?

Sun or partly sunny sites are best, although some rain garden plants can thrive in partial shade. Consider staggering bloom times, so that some plants will come into bloom just as others are fading. Watch the sun before you plant and put taller plants where they won’t shade shorter ones.

Are rain gardens safe?

The bottom line is that the soil in rain gardens is safe for kids and pets. That said, people are advised to wash their hands after working or playing in any soil, which can contain naturally occurring metals, fecal waste from the neighbor’s dog, or any number of compounds one wouldn’t want to ingest.

Why do we need to have rain gardens?

Rain gardens capture the rain that would usually runoff your property and allow it to soak into the ground. This helps minimize runoff and helps reduce the amount of pollution that enters our waterways.

Where is the best place to build a rain garden?

For example, you can direct water from your rain barrel to a rain garden in your backyard, and water from your downspouts to a rain garden in your front yard. There are a few locations on your property that ARE NOT appropriate for rain gardens:

Which is the best way to carry water to a rain garden?

Redirecting a downspout is the easiest way to carry water to your rain garden. Depending on the size and location of your property, you can even consider directing more than one downspout toward your rain garden.

What kind of plants can you use in a rain garden?

Many native plant species are well suited for rain gardens. If you are constructing a rain garden near a lakeshore or riverbank, you may be required to use native plants, depending upon local ordinances. Check with your local Soil and Water Conservation District.