Rain Gardens

It’s great to have rain gardens especially in a state like Missouri that has thousands of beautiful local plant species. Adding rain gardens in to a landscape is a wiser choice, too. You get to enjoy a special spot in your yard while saving on water usage. Save on your water bills and conserve water at the same time. But there’s more to having a rain garden than just these amazing benefits.

Rain Gardens and their Many Benefits

Rain gardens are not actually a garden with overhead sprinklers that constantly provide water to the plants. They are actually gardens that take advantage of the rainwater. The soil is dug to create a shallow depression that will capture and then soak up rainwater or stormwater runoff. Usually, this runoff is channeled away from the soil garden because it will cause over-hydration for the plants. If not properly channeled, the rainwater will only reduce groundwater recharge, lower the groundwater table, lose the stream, increase a danger of soil erosion, flash flooding, and lower water quality. But in rain gardens, this common “nuisance” is a heaven-sent.

Besides adding a special and beautiful spot in your backyard, rain gardens also preserve the water quality by lessening the rainwater runoff. These gardens are also ideal for encouraging the growth of natural and local wildlife habitats. Butterflies and birds will be encouraged to visit your garden often. These are perfect alternatives for the traditional landscapes. Best of all, rain gardens encourage the use of local plants, which require less maintenance.

Rain Gardens Requirements and Recommendations

Follow certain requirements and recommendations and you could enjoy the best benefits of rain gardens. First, limit your plant choices within the local alternatives. They can easily adapt to the local soil and the local rainwater. No need to make a big difference in the soil or anything. Just dig the soil and plant. Maintenance will also be easier.

With a huge choice of plants, it will be easy to get a beautiful combination of flowering plants, shrubs, and even trees for any rain gardens in Missouri. But of course, the right combination has to be thought out carefully to ensure beauty and easy maintenance. Bluestems, Northern Sea Oats, Prairie Dropseed, Switch Grass, Marsh Milkweed, Aromatic Aster, and Showy Goldenrod are just a few of the many choices on Missouri local plant species.

Besides choosing the best combination of local plants, there are construction requirements for the best rain gardens. For instance, it should be at least 10 feet away from the house, must be at least 15 feet away from the septic tank, and it must enjoy full or partial sunshine. The gardens must never be placed in ponds or they will suffer slow infiltration. The water must be fully absorbed by the soil several hours after the rain.

Need a Professional for Rain Garden Creation?

Terra-Scape Landscape Constructors knows exactly how to build the best rain gardens. We have already added these important elements to some of the residential and commercial outdoors in St. Charles, Town and Country, Chesterfield, Ballwin, Wentzville, and the rest of Missouri. All you need to do is contact us soon and we’ll start testing your outdoors to find the perfect spot for the rain garden.