Environmentally friendly rain gardens attract storm water and filter out pollutants Staff photo by Shane Opatz plants, are designed to trap and Bill Hunt, a Master Gardener from Eau Claire, is helping to design rain By Kate Hartsel absorb storm water so it doesn’t run gardens for the Eau Claire County Exposition Center. Here he holds a Home Front writer into the street and ultimately into tray of young New England asters, Latin name Aster novae-angliae, a local streams and lakes. Storm water native perennial that grows 4 to 6 feet tall and whose purple and orange all prairie grasses and runoff often carries with it blooms are favorites of butterflies. native wildflowers make a fertilizers, pesticides, lawn clippings natural-looking garden, and leaves that pollute waterways. and when planted in a Rain gardens improve water quality homeowner by having a garden Gardener Project. Tshallow depression that collects by filtering out pollutants and that’s aesthetically pleasing,” said The rain gardens at the Exposition storm water, these plants become an allowing the water to soak in and Darren Lochner of Eau Claire, a Center, near the interchange of environmentally friendly way of replenish the groundwater supply. University of Wisconsin-Extension Interstate 94 and Highway 93, will dealing with runoff from rooftops “Rain gardens encourage the natural resources educator for the feature many native plants, and and hard surfaces. natural system of the water cycle Lower Chippewa River Basin. “The Hunt is growing 400 of them in his Rain gardens, planted with native and still provide a value to the native plants used in rain gardens basement in preparation for the are also beneficial to wildlife and outdoor project. will bring in birds and butterflies, “One Expo Center garden will be which a lot of people enjoy.” 125 square feet and will be located Find out more from these sources Because they have deep root near a downspout; a second garden To find out more about rain gardens and rain garden plants, try systems, native plants can tolerate will be 255 square foot and farther these sources: extremely wet and dry conditions, from the building,” Hunt said. Internet sites http://clean-water.uwex.edu/pubs/raingarden and so they work well in rain gardens, Like those at the Exposition http://dnr.wi.gov (click on “search” and type in “rain garden”). noted Bill Hunt of Eau Claire, who Center, home rain gardens usually Darren Lochner, UW-Extension natural resources educator, 836-5513. is helping Lochner design and are established in one of two places: install two rain gardens at the Eau near the house to catch roof runoff County UW-Extension offices. In Eau Claire County, call the Claire County Exposition Center this or farther away to collect water from office at 839-4712. summer. Hunt is coordinator of the the lawn and roof. West Central Wisconsin Master Rain gardens that catch roof
20 Home Front ❖ May 16, 2004 ❖ Leader-Telegram Gardening ❖
Staff photos by Shane Opatz Black-eyed Susans like this one, This bergamot, Monarda fistulosa, Boneset, or Eupatorium per- This young yellow coneflower, Rudbeckia hirta, bloom summer is a hardy perennial that tolerates foliatum, has white flowers that Ratibida pinnata, is expected to through fall. The plants shown here drought and attains heights of 2 to attract butterflies and blooms July grow 1 to 4 feet tall and bloom are among 400 growing at Bill 3 feet. It has white flowers that through October. The plant grows June through August. Hunt’s Eau Claire home and bloom from June to September. to 2 to 4 feet. awaiting transplant to a rain garden. runoff should be at least 10 feet from garden. The slope should be less the foundation so water doesn’t seep than 12 percent or a different Plants for rain gardens into the basement. Such gardens location should be chosen. Here are some plants that grow well in rain gardens. Some attract To figure out the slope, first also should not be placed directly butterflies and birds. Each Latin name is followed by its common name. over a septic system or directly pound in one stake at the uphill end under a big tree. of the site and a second stake at the Butterfly favorites Ideally the garden should be in a downhill end. The stakes should be sunny, flatter part of the yard to approximately 15 feet apart. Allium cernuum, nodding wild onion. make digging and preparation easier. Run a string between the stakes, Amorpha canescens, leadplant. A typical residential rain garden with the uphill end tied at ground Apocynum androsaemifolium, measures 100 to 300 square feet. The level. With a carpenter’s level make dogbane. size depends on how deep the the string horizontally level between Aquilegia canadense, columbine. garden will be, what type of soil the the stakes and tie the string tight. Aster novae-angliae, garden will be planted in, and how Measure the width in inches between New England aster. large of an area will drain to the the two stakes. Next measure the Chelone glabra, turtlehead. garden from the roof and/or lawn. height in inches between the ground Echinacea purpurea, purple All of these factors and much and string on the downhill stake. coneflower. more can be determined by using Then divide the height by the width Eupatorium perfoliatum, the information and charts in a UW- and multiply the result by 100 to boneset. Extension publication called “Rain determine the percent of slope. Liatris pycnostachya, prairie Gardens: A How-To Manual for If the slope is less then 4 percent, blazing star. Homeowners.” This booklet, the rain garden should be 3 to 5 Monarda fistulosa, bergamot. Extension publication GWQ037, is inches deep. If the slope is between Rudbeckia hirta, black-eyed available from county UW-Extension 5 and 7 percent, the garden should Susan offices, from Cooperative Extension be 6 to 7 inches deep, and if the Tradescantia ohiensis, spiderwort. Publications at (877) 947-7827, or slope is 8 to 12 percent, the garden on the Internet at http:// should be about 8 inches deep. Bird favorites clean-water.uwex.edu/pubs When you begin digging the Campanula rotundifolia, harebell. /raingarden. garden to the correct depth you “In determining the size of the should heap the soil around three Geum triblorum, prairie smoke. Heliopsis helianthoides, false sunflower. rain garden, you’re going to want to edges of the garden to form a low do a soil test,” Lochner said. “If you wall or berm to hold the water Ratibida pinnata, yellow coneflower have sandy soils, it’s going to be inside the garden. Use a rope to Grasses able to incorporate a lot more water outline the shape of the garden. As than if you have clay soils.” you dig, put the soil on the outside Andropogon scoparius, little bluestem. Usually, a rain garden is between of the rope. The berm should be Andropogon gerardi, big bluestem. 4 and 8 inches deep. highest on the downhill side of the Panicum virgatum, switch grass. The slope of the lawn will Sporobolus heterolepis, prairie dropseed. determine the depth of the rain Continued on Page 22
Leader-Telegram ❖ May 16, 2004 ❖ Home Front 21 ❖ Gardening Rain From Page 21 garden, tapering as it reaches the uphill side. The garden also should having sloping sides to slow erosion of the berm. “The soil in the garden should consist of topsoil and compost in a 50-50 mix,” Lochner said. “No fertil- izer should be added.” After the soil is ready, you can select plants (see list accompanying this story). Try mixing sedges, rush- es and grasses with flowering plants that thrive in this environment. This mixture of plants will allow a nor- mal growth pattern and create a thick root system so there will be fewer weeds as the plants mature. Knight Ridder photo When choosing plants consider height, bloom time, color and tex- Jeff Markley looks over the rain garden he created in the center of his paved, circular driveway at his ture. Try to select different heights home in Bainbridge Township, Ohio. and textures and plants that bloom in a cycle from early spring to fall so you have color all season. Don’t for- Puddle area becomes pretty plot get to plant grass or a dry-tolerant species such as prairie smoke on the birds and butterflies. well as in his own yard. berm to control erosion. By Mary Beth Breckenridge For the Flacksbarths, a rain gar- Markley created a rain garden in Finally, add mulch such as shred- Knight Ridder Newspapers den was the answer to a wet spot the center of his circular driveway ded bark to hold the soil and reduce that wasn’t just annoying, but dan- when he paved it so the garden weed growth. Ted Flacksbarth used to regard the gerous. The wet spot would fill would collect the water that runs off Care of the garden will include low-lying area in his back yard in with 12 inches or more of water in the pavement. Although he didn’t weeding in the first year or two. Maplewood, Minn., as a headache. spring, Ted Flacksbarth said, an have a water problem in the area, he After three years the mature native Now it’s a source of satisfaction and amount he couldn’t empty without was afraid that without a collection plants should choke out most an asset that beautifies his yard the use of a commercial pump. area, the runoff from the impervious weeds. At the end of each season while it benefits the environment. “I was always concerned about driveway surface would wash out you do not need to cut back plants. Flacksbarth and his wife, Lori, neighboring children drowning in the gravel driveway below. He filled Instead, leave them to create winter turned the flood-prone area into a it,” he said. the garden with a mix of plants interest in the landscape. In spring rain garden, a landscaped feature Now the spot is planted in tall including maples, daylilies and wait until new plants are about 4 to cleverly designed to collect storm bushes and other plants, thanks to a vinca ground cover – all plants that 6 inches high and then trim back last runoff and hold the water just long program in their city that encour- are water-tolerant. year’s growth. enough so it can percolate into the ages the creation of rain gardens for For all their problem-solving If you do your own work, the cost ground. The soil and plants in the water-management purposes. A potential, rain gardens serve a pur- of a rain garden is not exorbitant. rain garden remove pollutants rock layer beneath the soil holds the pose with still wider effect: They According to the Wisconsin naturally, so the water is cleaned as water while it’s draining, and keep pollution-laden storm runoff Department of Natural Resources, it filters through the earth. Flacksbarth said he has to resort to out of lakes and streams and encour- the cost of a rain garden put in by Rain gardens are simply shallow a small sump pump only after a age the water-cleansing process that hand is about $3 to $5 per square depressions underlaid with perme- torrential rain or a sudden, heavy nature intended. foot. Done by a landscaper the price able materials and filled with native snow melt. The couple has a second Rain-garden advocates stress the rises to about $10 to $12 per square plants chosen for their ability to rain garden in the front yard, plant- use of native plants, because they’re foot. stand up to a good soaking and to ed in ferns and flowers. so well adapted to the natural con- According to Lochner the payoff is thrive without fertilizers, pesticides “It’s worth a shot if you don’t ditions. They don’t need fertilizers ethical and aesthetical. or a lot of fuss. The gardens work want mosquitoes hanging around, and pesticides to thrive, so home- “Rain gardens are really a two- best where the soil drains well. standing water, the possibility of owners won’t compound the pollu- fold benefit both for the environ- A rain garden can be whatever children getting hurt, things like tion problem by growing them. ment and the homeowner,” he said. style the homeowner prefers – natu- that,” he said. “They have a positive impact on ral-looking or carefully manicured, Jeff Markley, a landscape architect Mary Beth Breckenridge writes for water resources and add an attrac- filled with flowers, shrubs, trees, who owns LANDesign in Geauga the Akron Beacon Journal in Akron, tive garden to the home landscape.” grasses, ground covers or ferns. It County’s Bainbridge Township, Ohio. This story is distributed by can be suited to sunshine or shade, Ohio, has used the concept in a Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Kate Hartsel is an Eau Claire and some are designed to attract couple municipal applications as Services. freelance writer and Master Gardener.
22 Home Front ❖ May 16, 2004 ❖ Leader-Telegram