What- A rain garden is a bowl-shaped depression dug into your yard and planted ideally with native plants. Water can collect here and infiltrate into the soil instead of running off your property where it would otherwise carry sediment, nutrients and pollutants into the waterways. Native plants work best because they resist drought, require little maintenance and need no pesticides or fertilizers.

Where- Rain gardens are best positioned in a low-lying area at least 10-15 feet from the home’s foundation to avoid water infiltration into the basement. It can also be created by digging out and planting a 3-12 inch depression where rain water gravitates. Rain gardens can also be fed by a buried downspout that has been extended to the garden site. To determine the best location, just observe where the water wants to travel during a rain storm and capture it before it exits your property.

Why- Lawns are about 90% impervious to water infiltration; the rest is left to run off into the storm drains, streams and ultimately the bay. By holding the rain on your property, rain gardens help reduce flooding and allow microbes in the soil to break down pollutants before they reach our rivers and streams. Water that runs off never percolates down into the aquifer and therefore is not cleaned of chemicals and pollutants that endanger fish, crabs and other forms of life. Furthermore, when we eat what comes from the bay and it’s waterways, we are ingesting these same pollutants that have run off our roofs, driveways and lawns.

Who- You! Non-point Source Pollution- the pollution coming from your own personal property- is the largest single contributor to excess nutrients, sediments and chemicals in the bay. Each rain garden may seem small but collectively they produce substantial neighborhood and regional environmental benefits. If each household created even just a small rain garden the cumulative effect would have an enormous impact on the health of the bay.

When- Now! It’s fun and easy to plan and plant a rain garden. There are plenty of great web sites to visit that offer simple, easy to follow instructions as well as beautiful design ideas. Here are just a few of the many great sites available:

A comprehensive guide to native plants of the Chesapeake Bay watershed area:   http://www.nps.gov/plants/pubs/chesapeake/index.htm

This information was derived from many conversations, websites, print articles and publications too numerous to credit here. We trust that all unnamed contributors will appreciate that their good works are being perpetuated here for the advancement of the greater good. Shipley’s Choice ES Environmental Committee, 2005