By Serena Dobson
Rain is probably far from your mind this winter. It’s more likely you’re stressing over snow—the mornings you’ll spend plowing your driveway and the salt you’ll inevitably be tracking into the house. But even though drizzly spring days seem a world away, the winter months are the perfect time to start thinking about planting a rain garden.
Stormwater runoff is a major issue facing the health of waterways all over the world. On impervious surfaces like paved roads, sidewalks, and roofs, rainfall flows unimpeded, collecting pollutants like pesticides and animal waste as well as litter like cigarette butts and plastic. This contaminated water makes its way into storm drains, where it enters our sewer system, or might even flow directly into rivers and stream, where it threatens flora and fauna.
Rain gardens were developed as a way to mitigate this problem. Consisting of vegetation planted within a shallow depression in the ground, they collect, absorb, and filter water that would otherwise run freely through urban areas. Washtenaw County residents are lucky to have a robust rain garden program, run through Washtenaw County Water Resources. The County offers a Master Rain Gardener Course that gives participants the opportunity to gain all the knowledge needed to construct and plant their own rain garden. The prerecorded course and necessary materials are available on their website, along with other helpful resources.
By studying up over the winter and making important decisions about your garden ahead of time—such as location, design, and what plants to use—you’ll feel much more prepared when it comes time to plant. Most sources recommend planting your rain garden at least 15 feet away from any buildings to keep water from pooling around and damaging structural foundations. Utilities like wells and septic tanks will need to be considered, too. As far as location goes, one option is to stake out an area near roof gutters or downspouts but still distant enough from your home that there’s no risk of damage while another is to position the garden further down your yard so that it collects runoff from the lawn as well as from the downspouts. Wherever you place it, your rain garden will need to be downhill from the channel that will be directing the water and situated on flat or slightly sloped ground.
A community garden is like a little shared oasis, a special spot where folks from all walks of life come together to grow delicious veggies, fragrant herbs, and beautiful flowers. It becomes a green sanctuary, where members roll up their sleeves, dig in the dirt, and let nature work its magic. Often organic, community gardens help promote soil health and community connection as much as they do delicious, locally grown food.