SAVE

YOUR MOST RECENT BOOKMARKS

IT LOOKS LIKE YOU DON’T HAVE ANY SAVED CONTENT…

Our site allows you to save content for easy reference or to enjoy at a later time. To save content, click on any of the bookmark icons on the site or sidebar of the page.

REVIEW OUR COOKIE POLICY HIDE
For a cleaner, greener Hampton Roads
Select Page
0

Yard & Landscaping

Rain Gardens

Rain gardens are taking “flower power” to the next level by keeping pollutants out of our local waterways. The native plants, grasses and trees used in a rain garden remove pollutants from rainwater runoff and allow water to slowly seep into the ground and evaporate into the atmosphere.

GOOD TO KNOW

Rain gardens have both flood and drought-tolerant native plants, grasses and trees. A top layer of mulch will keep the weeds out and improve water absorption and filtration. Rain gardens have many benefits. They:

  • Enhance the beauty of your yard
  • Diversify the plants in your yard
  • Provide habitat for birds and insects
  • Filter stormwater runoff before it enters local waterways

Speaking of diversifying your plants, here are some things to consider when selecting the plants for your rain garden:

  • Choose plants tolerant of both occasional flooding as well as dry periods.
  • Choose noninvasive plants that are adapted to the local environment.
  • Choose a mixture of species. A good rule of thumb is one plant species for every 10 to 20 square feet. For example, a 140-square-foot garden would have 7 to 14 different plant species.
  • Choose plants for vertical layering: Plant a mix of tall-, medium-, and low-growing species.

But which plants exactly, you ask?

Rain garden perennials include:

  • Arrowhead Sagittaria latifola
  • Asters Aster spp.
  • Beardtongue Penstemon digitalis
  • Beebalm Monarda didyma
  • Blackeyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta
  • Blue Lobelia Lobelia siphilitica
  • Bluestar Amsonia tabernaemontana
  • Want more? Click here for a comprehensive list!

Rain garden shrubs include:

  • American Beautyberry Callicarpa americana
  • Anise Illicium parvifolium
  • Arrowwood Viburnum dentatum
  • Bottlebrush Buckeye Aesculus parviflora
  • Buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis
  • Carolina Allspice Calycanthus floridus
  • Chokeberry Aronia arbutifolia
  • Cranberrybushes Viburnum opulus/trilobum
  • Devilwood Osmanthus americana
  • Want more? Click here for a comprehensive list!

Rain garden ferns include:

  • Christmas Fern Polystichum acrostichoides
  • Cinnamon Fern Osmunda cinnamomea
  • Holly Fern Cyrtomium falcatum
  • Japanese Painted Fern Athyrium nipponicum
  • Lady Fern Athyrium felix-femina
  • Royal Fern Osmunda regalis
  • Tassel Fern Polystichum braunii
  • Wood Ferns Dryopteris spp.

Rain garden grasses and grass-like plants include:

  • Broom Sedge Andropogon virginicus
  • Feather Reed Grass Calamagrostis acutiflora
  • Foxtail Grass Alopecurus pratensis
  • Rushes Juncus spp.
  • Sedges Carex spp.
  • Sweetflag Acorus spp.
  • Switchgrass Panicum virgatum

Rain garden groundcovers include:

  • Bugleweed Ajuga spp.
  • Foamflower Tiarella cordifolia
  • Green and Gold Chrysogonum virginianum
  • Lilyturf Liriope spicata
  • Mazus Mazus reptans
  • Plumbago Ceratostigma plumbaginoides
  • St. Johnswort Hypericum calycinum

 

Rain gardens provide new habitats for birds, filter stormwater, and they look great.

GOOD TO DO

If you are looking for a solution to the standing water on your property or a way to add more color to your yard and help improve water quality, then a rain garden is your solution! 

Here are the key steps to installing a rain garden:

  • Strategically locate your rain garden by noticing where water already flows or pools. Consider placing it near your house to catch runoff from the roof or in another area of your lawn to collect runoff from other hard surfaces.
  • Select a variety of native plants, being careful to include both drought and flood-tolerant species suitable for our climate zone. Here’s that great list of rain garden plants we mentioned earlier to get you started.
  • Sketch out your garden design and plant placement, or work with a professional landscaper to create a successful design. Here are some simple rain garden plans you could consider for your yard.
  • Generally, you want to plant shrubs and perennials in groups of three to five of the same species. Trees can be planted in groups or individually.
  • Plant taller and larger plants in the center or at one end of the garden, depending on the views.
  • Plant shorter plants where they can be seen easily, around the garden edges, in front of larger plants, or underneath taller plants.

You can also follow specific rain garden landscape plans for particular areas:

  • Border rain garden
  • Entry rain garden
  • Hedgerow rain garden
  • Let your imagination run wild!

 

Next time, enjoy the rain, knowing your rain garden is making the world a healthier, more beautiful place.  

 

Take the lawn care quiz

Find the leak and fix the leak

How to save money and water

Do you know what’s flushable and what’s not?

YOU MAY BE SURPRISED…

Don’t believe the hype about the flushable wipe…

FIND OUT WHY

Remember paper, plastic bottles, metal cans...

Take our fun quiz!

Bay Star Homes Logo
Bay Star Business Logo with the tagline working together for clean healthy waterways

IS YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS A BAY STAR?

We live in a beautiful region surrounded by water. It impacts everything from the food we eat to the fun we have as well as our economic livelihood. Our daily actions have a lasting impact and it's up to us to protect and restore our waterways. It takes a community of individuals making small changes to make a difference. Getting involved in the Bay Star programs is one way you can be part of the effort to protect our region's most defining natural resource, water.

Upcoming Events

VIEW ALL EVENTS

Green Living Blog Articles

VIEW ALL BLOG ARTICLES