Rain gardens to the rescue: A colourful way to prevent flooding in your yard
Rain gardens are planted with native species that love water and have deep roots
When a storm caused flooding in Sackville three years ago, the community wanted to look for green projects that could help people prevent water run-off on their properties.
That's how Amanda Marlin learnt about rain gardens.
The executive director of EOS Eco-Energy in Sackville said rain gardens basically consists of native species that love water and have deep roots, allowing the rain to naturally absorb into the ground.
Marlin said after a lot of research and testing, the group found the rain gardens worked as intended.
"Every time we planted a rain garden, there was a rainstorm almost immediately after so we got to see them in action," she said.
If done correctly, she said the garden can hold water for about 24 hours before releasing it into the ground.
"You actually dig it down a bit so it can hold a bit of water and you plant it near a spot where it can collect rain either off your roof or off your driveway," she said.
It's not a wetland, it's not a spot where water hangs around for very long.- Amanda Marlin, EOS Eco-Energy
"It's not a wetland, it's not a spot where water hangs around for very long,
"It recharges groundwater and filters that water coming through the ground layers."
Easy to do
Marlin said rain gardens can easily be planted in an afternoon, with some help from friends and family, and watershed protection groups around southern New Brunswick have been encouraging people to create their own.
"The rain gardens are known to perform better than your lawn at absorbing rainwater, so they actually absorb 30 to 40 per cent more rain than your lawn," she said.
Marlin said anyone interested in planting a rain garden should look for a spot around their property where the gardens could collect water.
It's also important to make sure the garden is planted three metres away from the house, to prevent water being absorbed into the ground from getting into your basement, she said.
Marlin added the garden will eventually become a wild space. To keep it looking nice, she advised planting sedges, ferns, rushes, black-eyed Susans, irises, milkweed and sweet grass.
A rain garden also has the benefit of being good for bees and butterflies because of the native species planted in it, she said.
"Lots of nice things, it's a really colourful garden too," she said.
People can also follow the group's how-to guide on their website.
With files from Information Morning Saint John