Brought to you by Southern Landscape Group, Inc.
A rain garden is usually a small garden which is designed to withstand the extremes of moisture and concentrations of nutrients, particularly Nitrogen and Phosphorus. These two nutrients are found in extremes in stormwater runoff. Rain gardens are sited close to the source of the runoff and serve to slow the stormwater as it travels downhill, giving the stormwater more time to infiltrate and less opportunity to gain momentum and erosive power.
On the surface, a rain garden looks like an attractive and healthy garden. It supports a habitat for birds and butterflies. Rain gardens can be a formal landscape element, or be incorporated into a larger garden as a border or an entryway. What makes a rain garden is how it gets its water and what happens to that water once it appears in the garden.
Below the surface, a number of processes occur which mimic the hydrologic action of a healthy forest. Soils are engineered and appropriate plants selected for the garden. The garden is a small bioretention area in which stormwater is cleaned and reduced in volume. Sediment loads in the stormwater are reduced by the action of the plants and growing media on the water. Multiple rain gardens over an area will have a positive effect on both the volume and quality of stormwater run off.
There are two basic forms of rain gardens — under-drained and self-contained. Each is incorporated to improve stormwater quality, reduce runoff volumes and facilitate infiltration of cleaned water. LEED credits are available for implementation of rain gardens.
What makes a rain garden is how it gets its water & what happens to that water once it arrives in the garden.
On the surface, a rain garden looks like an attractive and healthy garden. It supports a habitat for birds and butterflies. Rain gardens can be a formal landscape element, or be incorporated into a larger garden as a border or an entryway. What makes a rain garden is how it gets its water and what happens to that water once it appears in the garden.
Below the surface, a number of processes occur which mimic the hydrologic action of a healthy forest. Soils are engineered and appropriate plants selected for the garden. The garden is a small bioretention area in which stormwater is cleaned and reduced in volume. Sediment loads in the stormwater are reduced by the action of the plants and growing media on the water. Multiple rain gardens over an area will have a positive effect on both the volume and quality of stormwater run off.
There are two basic forms of rain gardens — under-drained and self-contained. Each is incorporated to improve stormwater quality, reduce runoff volumes and facilitate infiltration of cleaned water. LEED credits are available for implementation of rain gardens.
To learn more, visit the Southern Landscape Group, Inc. website or give them a call.
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