Rain Garden from Lake Simcoe Conservation Authority
A Rain Garden is an engineered landscape feature that takes advantage of rainfall, storm water, and melting snow, by collecting and temporarily storing the runoff from eaves troughs, lawns, and driveways | walkways.
Rain Garden Elements
It’s all about the garden design and the plant selection that makes this feature work. Usually, it is a small garden which is designed to withstand the extremes of moisture and concentrations of nutrients, particularly Nitrogen and Phosphorus that are found in storm water runoff.
Why a Rain Garden?
- Stormwater runoff can increases flooding
- Increases the amount of water that filters into the ground which recharges local & regional aquifers
- Helps protect streams & lakes from pollutants carried by stormwater – lawn fertilizers & pesticides, oil & other fluids that leak from cars, & numerous harmful substances that wash off roofs & paved areas
- Enhancing the beauty of yards & neighborhoods
- Provides valuable habitats for birds, butterflies & beneficial insects
- Is your personal contribution to cleaner water
When to Install a Rain Garden!
- If you are experiencing drainage and erosion problems a Rain Garden can helps control water on the property
- If you have disconnect your downspouts | wet around the foundation a Rain Garden can help
- If you have the ‘space’ to install this garden feature | the feature should not be any closer to the house then 10 feet
- If you want to take advantage of a slope or grading change
- If you want to attract butterflies, birds and pollinators to your yard
- If you want to lower your water bills & grass cutting
Construction of a Rain Garden
Plants | Native | Non-Native
- Plants need to tolerate both flooding as well as dry periods
- Don’t over plant | 1 plant for every 10 to 15 square feet of garden
- Plant for vertical layering | mix of tall, medium and low growing plants
- Salt Tolerant if in the front yard
- Light conditions | Sun | Shade
- Consider Dwarf Trees | Tall Shrubs | Perennials | Grasses
Native Trees | Flowering Shrubs
- Kentucky Coffee Tree| Northern Red Oak | River Birch
- Serviceberry | Witchhazel| Inkberry | Willow | Pussy Willow
- Blueberry | Chokeberry | St. John’s Wort | Low Bush Honeysuckle | Red Twig Dogwood | Arrowwood
- Native Lilac | Snowberry | Buttonbush | Elderberry | Summersweet | Swamp Rose
Perennials
- Ferns | Sedges | Native Grasses
- Cardinal Flower | Blue Lobelia | Beebalm | Brown-Eyed Susan | Marsh Marigold | Red Columbine | Swamp Milkweed
- Ironweed | Flag Iris | Joe Pye Weed | Liatris
- Swamp Sunflower | Turtlehead | Virginia Bluebells
- Wild Ginger | Anemone | Foamflower | Lilyturf
Native Groundcover | Evergreens
- Jack Pine | Larch | Tamarack | White Spruce | Cedars
- Bayberry | Bearberry | Winterberry
