Build a Rain Garden!
Visit Home PageAutumn is here. Your solar thermometer is reading 15 degrees below normal if you live in the Pacific Northwest and thoughts of rainy days mixed with snow ahead aren’t too hard to imagine.
Yes, the end of the flowers, but not the end of the garden! This year, consider building a RAIN GARDEN.
How?
Choose the location downhill from your waterspout, at least ten feet from your home.
To approximate the rain garden size, figure one third the square footage of your roof. This measure is accurate for standard, black soil, but if you have sandy earth your garden may be smaller and if clay is predominant, make it a little larger.
Gift Idea: Solar Fountain
If you already have a low spot past that ten foot mark where water collects, just dig down half a foot and slope the sides in for the water to run. If there is a downhill side, build up a good edge to catch runoff before it heads for the drains. Your neighborhood will thank you and you just might inspire your neighborhood.
Western Mountains and Pacific Northwest
Wildflowers, Ferns, Grasses, and Sedges:
Aquilegia formosa, Columbine
Aralia californica, Elk clover
Aruncus dioicus, Goatsbeard
Caltha leptosepala, Marsh marigold
Camassia quamash, Camas
Cimicifuga laciniata, Bugbane
Darmera peltata, Umbrella plant
Heracleum lanatum, Cow parsnip
Mimulus guttatus, Monkeyflower
Adiantum pedatum, Maidenhair fern
Athyrium filix-femina, Lady fern
Woodwardia fimbriata, Chain fern
Carex obnupta, Sedge
Trees and Shrubs:
Acer circinatum, Vine maple
Clethra alnifolia, Sweet pepperbush
Cornus alternifolia, Pagoda dogwood
Cornus sericea, Creek dogwood
Gaultheria shallon, Salal
Ilex verticillata, Winterberry
Physocarpus capitatus, Pacific ninebark
Ribes sanguineum, Red-flowering currant
Rubus spectabilis, Salmonberry
Salix purpurea ‘Nana’, Dwarf blue willow
Salix scouleri, Scouler’s willow
