Our rain garden project was an undertaking during the Spring of 2023 in collaboration with Purdue’s EEE472 class. Professor Lindsey Payne and students Adam Beaver, Aekum Mhajan, James Wolfinbarger, Myles Cook, and Savannah Jones designed a rain garden to be implemented on the west side of the building. Through various grants we were able to put their plan into action. On your next visit check out the progress of the rain garden and read below to learn more and how you can implement one at your own house.
Benefits
Instead of dealing with the demanding mowing schedule of turfgrass, you can sit back and watch butterflies and birds flock to your garden.
Rain gardens should be trimmed, mulched, and maintained to prevent clogging, but you’ll never have to mow.
After rain gardens are fully established, they won’t require watering except in extreme drought conditions. They save you time and money while reducing your carbon footprint. Water conservation is especially important as water shortages become increasingly common across the U.S.
Native plants in rain gardens will bring birds, butterflies, and bees fluttering into your lawn.
Rain gardens help recharge depleted groundwater sources. Water captured by a rain garden drains back into the soil, which replenishes local aquifers.
Groundwater recharge is an eco-friendly alternative to expensive surface water storage methods like reservoir expansion, which can hit taxpayers and ecosystems hard.
Rocks and native plants create a perfect habitat for wildlife, and you’ll soon see native birds and beneficial insects fluttering about your rain garden.
Rain gardens attract:
- Bees
- Butterflies
- Dragonflies
- Frogs
- Toads
- Turtles
- Native birds like finches and hummingbirds
Soil-improving microorganisms also will make your rain garden their home.
Native plants are adapted to your region and soil type, so they won’t need fertilizers or harsh chemicals. This will save you time and money while protecting the environment.
Rain gardens divert rainwater away from storm sewers, reducing the load on the sewer system. This means that less contaminated water gushes into rivers and lakes and harms aquatic wildlife.
Rain gardens give water time to evaporate into the air. They filter the rest of the water through roots and soil so fewer pollutants enter streams and rivers. In fact, the average home rain garden filters 30,000 gallons of water per year. That’s enough to fill a bathtub 600 times!
This filtration process improves water quality and prevents harmful algal blooms.
Rain gardens divert water away from your home’s foundation, preventing basement flooding and seepage. Water will flow down your swales or pipes away from your home, instead of pooling right at the base of your house.
As long as your rain garden is planted at least 10 feet away from your foundation, it will serve as a perfect method for water diversion.
Rain gardens soak up 30% more water than regular lawns, so they’ll prevent muddy puddles and soggy soil. In yards with drainage issues, kids and pets can play outside days after a rainstorm and still track mud into the house.
With a rain garden, water will drain from your lawn faster, so you’ll have less slip-sliding and fewer messes.
Facts
Our rain garden:
- Is almost 1,000 sq ft
- Contains nearly 1,000 plants
- Filled with native plantings such as butterfly weed, prairie sundrops, coneflower, dropseed, and golden alexanders
Resources
You can add a rain garden to your own home either yourself or through a licensed contractor. To get your started here are links to some helpful resources:
WREC’s cost share program can provide up to 75% of the total cost for urban and agricultural projects designed to improve water quality in the Region of the Great Bend of the Wabash River watershed.
