By Pat Dray
The Garden Spot
Pat Dray
Most of us who follow the news regarding landscapes and gardens are familiar with the trend of converting large parts of lawns into natural habitats. This allows the homeowner to reduce their carbon footprint through less mowing, weed whacking and leaf blowing, while increasing the diversity of plants and insects.
Although lawns are non-native monocultures that thrive only with heavy feeding, watering, herbicides and pesticides, they can still have a place in the landscape when designated for a specific purpose such as a play area.
One way to create a natural habitat on your property is to incorporate a rain garden. According to Groundwater.org, rain gardens allow 30 percent more water to soak into the ground than conventional lawns do, and they remove up to 90 percent of chemicals and nutrients in the runoff. That’s great news for those of us with well water.
Rain gardens are simple in concept: pick an area on your property that is lower than its surroundings where rainwater collects as it runs off the roof and driveway. It’s best to shape the garden as a rectangle perpendicular to the slope to garner the maximum runoff. Plan your garden at a minimum of ten feet away from the home’s foundation.
Once you’ve identified the location, if your soil is compacted or clay you will need to take some steps to increase the water filtration. If your soil is hard to dig, it’s compacted. If your soil clumps together in your hand, it’s clay. Typically removing the top six to twelve inches of soil and adding compost and sand will do the trick. It’s fine for the garden to have standing water immediately after a rain event, but for no longer than 12-48 hours so that mosquitoes don’t breed.
Your plant selection should be guided first by the amount of sun the rain garden gets and second by what native plants will thrive with those wet feet. It’s best to avoid planting any trees in the rain garden, since they are thirsty and will compete with your perennials for water.
If you want to attract butterflies to your rain garden, several milkweeds love wet feet–Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) and Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed). Some other great choices are Aquilegia canadensis (red columbine) and Caltha palustris (marsh marigold).
Note that plants with the word “marsh” or swamp” can go in the deepest part of the garden with others planted slightly uphill.
Once the rain garden is established it should need little to no maintenance – all you need to do is enjoy it. For additional regional natives that like wet feet you can download a fact sheet at extension.unh.edu/resource/native-plants-new-england-rain-gardens-fact-sheet.
Pat Dray is a past president of the Garden Club of Orange and a master gardener.