A well thought-out rain garden design and proper installation are key to ensuring your rain garden's success. Use the resources on the left-hand side of this page to help with deign and installation. Also, watch for local trainings on rain garden design!
Resources:
Parts of a Rain Garden
Inlet -where water enters the rain garden. The inlet is usually a surface flow into the garden, or an underground pipe that surfaces in the garden.
Outlet - where the water escapes from the rain garden if the rain garden fills up and it's still raining. The outlet is the lowest spot along the garden's edge.
Depression - the depression (low part in the center of the garden) is where water collects and infiltrates into the ground.
Mulch - shredded hardwood mulch keeps weeds down and moisture in!
Plants - plant roots absorb water and break up hard and clayey soils.
Soil - bacteria in healthy soils breaks down pollutants and nurishes the plants.
The Blue Thumb Guide to Rain Gardens
is now avaiable at your local (Faribault County) library!
- Understanding Your Property
- Sizing Your Raingarden
- Preparing the Soil and Garden Bed
- Selecting Plants
- Installing Plants & Finishing Touches
- Caring for Your Raingarden
- Common Questions
- Raingarden Plant Choices
- Plant Pictures & Descriptions
Start-to-Finish
Rain Garden Design A Workbook for Homeowners, Faribault County SWCD PDF - NEW!!! This guide is a set of worksheets
meant to take homeowners through
the process of planning a rain garden.
Use this workbook to fill
in your answers, do the calculations,
and complete your sketches.
Once completed, you should be ready
to install your garden!!!
Building a Rain Garden
The following slideshow shows the stages of a rain gardnen installed in the City of Wells during the fall of 2008.
Lay out the desired shape of the rain garden with string, hose, or spray paint.
Remove sod with a sod cutter or by hand.
Excavate and ensure you have a flat and level bottom.
Add soil amendments as needed (mix well by hand or with a garden tiller).
Build berms or walls (if needed).
Add about three inches of shredded hardwood mulch.
Plant & Water.
Rain Garden Installation Guide for Homeowners Faribault County SWCD PDF - NEW!!! This is a companion guide to the "Start-to-Finish Rain Garden Design." It gives instruction on how to proerly excavate, level, amend soils, and mulch and plant your rain garden.
Other Rain Garden Design & Installation Resources
Check out these sites for more information on rain garden design and installation:
Blue Thumb- a Minnesota organization promoting the planting of native landscapes, rain gardens, and native shorelines.
Metro Blooms- a Twin Cities organization promoting gardening in urban areas for beauty and environmental quality.
