Books: Rain Gardening

 

In many cities and suburban areas, all that rainwater cascading off the roof, the driveway, the patio and other hard surfaces drains into sewers, where it joins a deluge of dirty water that empties into local bodies of water.  A better option for any homeowner is to construct a rain garden, where stormwater can be re-directed back into the soil to help recharge the water table.

 In her latest book, horticulturist and author Lynn Steiner teams up with water scientist Robert Domm in a handbook on rain gardens that both garden designers and homeowners will find exteremely useful. 

Rain Gardens: Sustainable Landscaping for a Beautiful Yard and a Healthy World (Voyageur Press, 2012), explains why rain gardens are important and how to locate, design, and build them.  The authors tell you how to calculate exactly how much rainwater you can capture from your roof and how much water you can store underground; how to plan where the water will go; and which plants are best, depending on the amount of water they'll take.

While the authors note that most rain gardens are planted with perennials, they also outline plans for larger rain gardens that are suitable for trees, shrubs, and ornamental grasses.  Particularly useful are the plant lists in this book:  plants for seasonal interest, perennials and grasses by height; plants that attract butterflies and birds; plants that tolerate road salt -- and plants to avoid.

Finally, there are alphabetical (by botanical name) lists of perennials, shrubs, trees and grasses that are good rain garden candiates, and there's also a list of rain garden resources for more information about these gardens in general and native plants that would be useful.

If there's any doubt in your mind about the utility of rain gardens, they require far less care than traditional gardens.  As the authors note, " A rain garden planted with species that are native to your geographic region should never require fertilizer or pesticides to thrive."

Every gardener who cares about the health of their local environment and the planet in general should have a copy of this book.

Comments

[Will Peartin]

I'm also planning to have a rain garden on my roof to save water for watering the plants. As we all know, many gallons of rainwater coming from the roofs and gutters are wasted by being driven down the drain without even being used.

[Garden Sheds]

I really wanted to have this book for I wanted to have a rain garden! Thank you for sharing this.

[Martha]

I have a burning desire to have a rain garden but they require quite a bit of muscle and machinery.