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Directories Int'l Realty US Realty
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Rain Gardens Stuart Lieberman, Esq., Gardens are very important for a home. Houses without appropriate gardening can appear naked and sad. Gardens serve so many functions. They are attractive, reduce soil erosion, provide habitat for wildlife, and they increase the value of our homes. Here is something that a well placed garden can do that you might not have given thought to before. A garden can help protect the environment. Here is how. Normally, after a rainfall rain leaves your property and in some manner enters a stream or other body of water. Usually the rain water carries with it pollutants, such as pesticides, animal waste and automotive fluids. These pollutants harm and may destroy the water bodies that receive them. A rain garden intercepts this rain water before it leaves your property. This allows the water to seep into the ground. The pollutants are filtered by the vegetation, so many of them do not harm the environment. Rain gardens also prevent flooding that occurs after large rainfalls by managing rainwater on site. They also provide wildlife habitat and all of the other benefits associated with home plantings. They are a great thing to consider building. I have one on my property and it does an excellent job in addressing pollutants and excessive run off from my property. To select a location for your rain garden, observe your property during a rain fall. You want to place your garden between the place where water initially accumulates and its discharge location. In effect, you want to create a vegetated catch basin for this rain water. There are certain other factors to consider. For example, stay away from your home foundation or you might end up with a wet basement. Also avoid drinking water wells, septic fields, utility lines, and shallow water tables. Good sun shine is a plus, after all, this is a garden with plants that need solar nourishment. On that note, make sure that you have soils with adequate nutrition, and make sure the soils drain well. Sizing of the garden is important. You need a garden that can contain rainfall from a good rain. This is slightly complicated and beyond the scope of this article. Be sure to consult local agricultural or environmental websites that will provide help on sizing your rain garden, locating it, and plant selection. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of this issue. When you build your garden, obtain pertinent local advice from local educational or government sources that you consider to be reliable. No matter what plants are selected, you should use plants that have established roots. Growing plants from seed will likely not work because they will either become water inundated or the seed with float away. So established plants seem to work best. And many of your plants will have to be local in nature. You want species that have adapted to your environment. There are many environmental related reasons for avoiding non-native species. Rain garden maintenance is essentially the same as any garden maintenance. Except that mulching seems to be particularly important in rain gardens because they are frequently wet. Weeding, pruning and regular maintenance are as important with these gardens as in the case of traditional ornamental gardening. Rain gardens can make a great family project. Condominiums, apartment buildings and co-ops should also consider them and may wish to appoint a committee of volunteers to organize and maintain them. They should be considered for commercial buildings as well. Many government agencies are installing them all over the country. While permits should not be needed for residential gardens, larger ones, especially commercial rain gardens, many require some level of approval. So be sure to inquire.
The information provided in this column is written by Stuart Lieberman,a practicing environmental attorney, and is for general information purposes only. It is not legal advice and should not be used in place of legal advice.
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