"Homeowners can help protect water quality and beautify their property at the same time by constructing a rain garden", says John Church, University of Illinois Extension Educator, Natural Resources, Rockford. A rain garden is a slightly sunken perennial garden that collects rainwater from a roof or paved area and allows it to seep into the soil, rather than run off into storm sewers and, eventually, lakes and streams.

"University of Wisconsin researchers and educators have been planting and monitoring rain gardens for several years", reports Church. They indicate that people can feel frustrated by complex environmental problems because it seems there is little any one person can do to make a difference. A rain garden, however, is something an individual can do to protect the environment. It is a way for people to do the right thing, plus have the added benefit of having a beautiful addition to a home.

Rain gardens differ from ordinary perennial gardens because they are planted in a shallow, flat-bottomed earthen bowl. This bowl is then filled with native perennial flowering plants. Popular choices include Sunflower, Black-eyed Susan, Liatris, Gay Feather, Blue Flag Iris, Purple Cone Flower, Cardinal Flower, and Golden Alexander. The gardens should have a mix of flowers that bloom at different times of the year for a steady show of color.

These gardens benefit the environment because they increase the amount of water filtering into the ground instead of running off, helping to recharge groundwater and reduce the volume of stormwater runoff and the amount of pollutants washing into lakes and streams. They can help also help provide valuable wildlife habitat.

Rain gardens are easy to construct and maintain, similar to any perennial garden. The biggest jobs are excavating and preparing the sunken planting bed and pulling weeds until the perennial plants become established.

Rain gardens should not be a breeding place for mosquitoes when designed correctly. Water should only stand in the depression for up to one or two days before it is absorbed into the soil, so mosquitoes eggs and larva cannot survive there. Standing water has to be present for at least seven days for mosquitoes to hatch. "If water is standing in the rain garden longer than a couple of days, there are design problems and it is not functioning as intended," says Church.

Building rain gardens in parks, or near municipal buildings, schools and churches makes a great community service project for schools and civic organizations.

More information about how to construct and plant a rain garden is available in two University of Wisconsin-Extension publications: "Rain Gardens: A household way to improve water quality in your community" and "Rain Gardens: A how-to manual for homeowners." Both can be downloaded free of charge at: http://clean-water.uwex.edu/pubs/index.htm

Information is also available through University of Illinois Extension county offices.

Source: John Church, Extension Educator, Natural Resources Management, churchj@uiuc.edu