Chris Tom, Buckeyes Abroad marketing intern, writes:

To ensure spring showers bring May flowers, consider planting a rain garden. Rain gardens are not only a decorative lawn feature, but offer many ecological benefits.

According to The University of Florida’s Program for Resource Efficient Communities, a rain garden is a “shallow planted depression designed to retain or detain storm water before it is infiltrated or discharged downstream.” The depression has usually been excavated and filled with a loose fill such as sand or gravel to allow for better infiltration. The storm water comes from urban landscapes such as roofs, compacted soil, or paved areas such as parking lots or driveways.

Rain gardens improve water quality by increasing the retention time of water. Instead of run off flowing directly into the sewer system or surface water where erosion or flooding can result, the runoff has time to infiltrate into the soil and recharge the ground water. Another benefit of rain gardens is that the remaining run off has fewer pollutants.

Increased retention time allows some particulates and phosphorus to settle out. This also gives microbes a chance to break down the organic matter and nitrogen. Planting hearty native plants that can tolerate wet to dry conditions allow for little up keep while attracting native animals, such as birds and insects.

Happy spring!