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Rain Gardens: Creating A Mini Wetland At Home
A lot of environmentalists in the country are advocating the use of rain gardens at home to help prevent water pollution. Rain gardens are like mini wetlands which absorb storm waters and filter the dirty water before it is allowed to enter underground or otherwise flow into the drainage system.
Since rain gardens often absorb storm water, they can help prevent flooding due to storm water overflow. These types of gardens are very helpful especially if you live in low lying areas that are prone to flooding during heavy rains.
Constructing Your Rain Gardens
Rain gardens are shaped like basins to serve as effective rain catchments system. To make your rain gardens more attractive, you can design the rim of your garden. You can have a round, kidney, bean or square or any shape you want as long as you do not restrict the natural flow of the storm water. If you have a big area is your backyard, you might want to design your rain garden in such a way that it will blend into the terrain of your backyard.
If possible, do not dig one large hole in your backyard for your sunken garden. Not only will a large gapping hole look ugly it your backyard, it will also invite accidents especially if you have small children.
Note that children are naturally very curious so there is always a danger that they will stumble into the big hole and hurt themselves. Instead of digging one large hole for your rain garden, consider creating a rain garden a kind of border in one side of your backyard where the water usually settles down after the rain.
To make your backyard more attractive and friendly to children, create a border between the garden and your lawn. You may use plants as hedges or a simply pathway to delineate the areas of your backyard. Besides, separating your lawn and you garden can also help your garden look better.
When constructing your rain gardens, you need to pay close attention to the soil type that you have. If you live in an area where the soil is naturally sandy, expect the water from your rain garden to seep through faster.
In this case, you need to prepare a deep but small garden to process the rain water well. However, if you live in an area where the soil in is clayish, it may take time before the water drains off from your rain garden. In this case, you need to set up a shallow but large rain garden. |
