Transcript Volunteer Stream Monitoring Program

Planting Your Rain Garden
The Rain Garden Environment
Are rain gardens wet?
The Rain Garden Environment
Rain Garden Zones
Edge
Emergent
Semi-aquatic
The Rain Garden Environment
• Moisture regime also depends upon site conditions
The Forest Model
A Citizen’s Guide to
Phytoremediation,
US EPA, 2001
Stream Corridor Restoration, FISRWG, 1998
Rain gardens are designed
to imitate forest functions.
Surface Hierarchy Pyramid
MOST DESIRABLE
Multiple Layers
of Vegetation
Single Layer of
Vegetation
Mulch
Lawn
Stones/Gravel
Bare Soil
Pavement/Roof
LEAST DESIRABLE
Trees in the Rain Garden
Does Your Rain Garden Work?
Courtesy Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc.
Pollutants in the Rain Garden
• Nutrients (Nitrogen
and Phosphorus)
• Heavy Metals (Copper)
• Salt, Deicers, Sand
• Car fluids (Gasoline,
Antifreeze, Oil, etc.)
• Pesticides & Herbicides
Use Native Plants
• Adapted to local conditions,
including soils & precipitation
• Don’t require inputs of
chemical fertilizers & pesticides
• Save time and money
• Provide the habitat wildlife,
including pollinators, need
• Beautiful!
http://www.nps.gov/plants/pubs/chesapeake/toc.htm
Natives Provide Habitat
• Food (Year-round)
• Water
• Shelter
• Places to Raise Young
A native plant is “a plant that lives or grows naturally in a
particular region without direct or indirect human intervention.”
USDA PLANTS Database
http://plants.usda.gov/
Avoid Invasive Plants
An invasive non-native plant is “a species intentionally or
accidentally introduced by human activity into a region in which it
did not evolve and which aggressively competes with, and
displaces, locally adapted native plant communities.
•
•
•
•
Displace native species
Reduce wildlife habitat
Alter ecosystem processes
Maintenance nightmare!
Courtesy NPS
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/invspinfo.shtml
http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/pubs/midatlantic/toc.htm
10 Rain Garden Plants
Black-eyed susan
Virginia sweetspire
(Itea virginica)
http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/serviceplantfinder.shtml
10 Rain Garden Plants
Winterberry
holly
10 Rain Garden Plants
Joe Pye weed
Obedient
plant
10 Rain Garden Plants
Black Chokeberry
(also Red Chokeberry)
Switchgrass
Elderberry
Ox-eye sunflower
Arrowwood viburnum
More Winning Plants
• Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower) and Rudbeckia hirta
• Pycnanthemum virgianum (Slender-leaved mountain
mint)
• Andropogon virginicus (Broomsedge)
• Chasmanthium latifolium (Upland sea oats)
• New York ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis)
• Clethra alnifolia (Sweet pepperbush)
• Northern bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica)
• Milkweeds – Asclepias incarnata (swamp) and Asclepias
tuberosa (butterfly weed)
• Little bluestem, Indian grass, goldenrods, monarda and
asters
Plant Density
Seeds and Plugs
Pots
•Better for natural gardens.
•Better for traditional gardens.
•Plant plugs @ 1/2 to 1 ft.
on center.
•Plant 4 inch to 1 gal plants @
1 to 3 ft. on center
•Can’t mulch with seed.
A Few Design Tips
• “A well-designed rain garden doesn’t look like a rain
garden.”
• Rule of 3 – each plant should have at least 3
features to enjoy
• Plant in clumps of 3 – 7 plants of the same species
to create bold color, cohesion and pattern.
• Use your edges.
• Create year-round dimension and interest.
• Plant densely, but consider mature plant size.
Courtesy Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc.
Downspout
Drain
Stark Residence Rain Garden
Local Rain Gardens
•Hidden Oaks Nature Center, Annandale
•Green Springs Garden, Alexandria
•Audrey Moore RECenter/Wakefield Park, Annandale
•Cub Run RECenter, Centreville
• U.S. Botanical Garden, Washington, DC
• Georgetown Waterfront, Washington, DC
• Brookside Gardens, Wheaton
Contact Information
Christin Jolicoeur
Watershed Planner
Arlington County DES
703-228-3588
[email protected]