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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]