The past few years have got us thinking about using rain water effectively. There are many reasons to consider infiltrating more water into your garden. These include:
- Saving money – rain water is free water
- Conserving a valuable and increasingly scarce
resource – water
- Helping replenish the ground water
- Providing habitat for insects and birds
- Providing a place to plant interesting stream and
pond-side plants
- Teaching children the values of conservation and
water-wise gardening
- Deep watering your garden’s trees and shrubs (in
winter/spring in our area)
One simple but effective infiltration tool is the rain garden or vegetated swale. Rain gardens/swales capture water that would otherwise run into the storm drains - and allow it to percolate into the ground. They make sense for many home gardens and are becoming increasingly popular throughout the world. To learn more see:
http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2013/03/harvesting-rain-rain-gardens-and.html
and http://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/infiltration-gardens-2015
There's still time to install a rain garden this year. To help you out, the CSUDH Native Plant Nursery will be offering native plants suitable for rain gardens in February. For a reasonable donation you can get the plants you need to install your new rain garden. Look for the plant list next week!
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