Rain Gardens May 2007

Rain, rain, stay today

Specialty gardens capture, purify runoff in a beautiful, water-wise setting

Friday, May 25, 2007

By NANCY MYERS / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
Nancy Myers is a Dallas freelance writer.

'Still waters run deep" could well be the motto for today's environmentally conscious gardener.

A relatively new concept in sustainable landscapes is the rain garden. Perfect showcases for native plants, these gardens complement any style of landscape. And their size and scale may vary, allowing them to fit and flow into odd shapes and spaces.

They're a beautiful and colorful way for home- owners to ease utility bills and aid environmental causes. Contrary to images one might imagine of lush, green gardens with flowing or falling water, a rain garden is a man-made depression with a berm on the low end that is used to improve water quality. This shallow depression is usually planted with deep-rooted native plants. The garden forms what's called a bioretention area, by collecting runoff and storing it, allowing it to be filtered and slowly absorbed by the soil, preventing erosion. The plants then return water vapor into the atmosphere.

These gardens are akin to a personal water-quality system. Think capture, channel, divert.

The scheme of things

Are rain gardens really the wave of the future? They are if you ask Carrie Dubberley, a Plano horticulturist and a member of the Collin County Master Gardeners program. She's all but launched a one-woman crusade, extolling the virtues of the rain garden through various educational opportunities.

"Educating people about how these gardens are useful, beautiful and highly doable is great," says Ms. Dubberley, who holds a horticulture degree from Colorado State University. "The idea is to make them desirable for the average homeowner."

The course of nature

Storm-water specialists in Maryland first conceived the bioretention system concept in the '90s. Since then, the rain-garden movement has been gaining momentum across the United States, including Texas.

"The rain garden opens up the conversation about what we're doing to the environment and gets people to start thinking about where the water's coming from, why we're letting it go off of our property," she says.

She adds: "People have got to see these native landscapes. We're trying to get people to see how beautiful they are so they can change their way of thinking."

Ms. Dubberley and fellow Collin County Master Gardeners are working with the Arts of Collin County Foundation and its Arts Park. The 124-acre complex, a public-private collaboration among Allen, Frisco and Plano, will integrate the natural landscape with the performing and visual arts.

Many of the same principles that apply to the Midwest are applicable to our native Texas soil, even during the hot, dry summers.

"What's nice about these plants," Ms. Cubberly says, "is that they have deep roots, and they will do great during a drought; they may not grow quite as large, but that's because they're working hard on their root system.

"So it's nice, because during a drought you're going to have foliage in your yard, and when it rains, you'll be catching that rain."

WHAT ABOUT MOSQUITOES?

Rain gardens are all about keeping water where it falls � not in standing pools or miniswamps but where it can be absorbed into the soil. And they aren't the mosquito magnets that some might envision. If the garden is properly constructed, the water will drain within 24 hours (usually faster); therefore, the pests most likely won't find them good breeding ground.

THE PLANNING

The site for the rain garden should be placed to intercept water runoff. From there, the design is up to you. It can be one large rain garden, with individual elements a part of the larger whole. Or the elements can be small-scale rain gardens in themselves.