Last year I never really got the garden going like I wanted. Daylilies that I planted never bloomed, zinnias were all over the place (way too many in my book), and many of the other plants were just too little to even be recognized. That’s the way I garden though, plan for the future and not pay too much out of pocket! This year the rain garden is looking much more impressive, maybe not grande like the Lurie Garden that the Spring Flingers got to enjoy, but it’s coming along nicely!
9 thoughts on “A Rain Garden Update”
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Rain Garden Update
The other day the rain garden completed a mini-test. It really was more of a pop quiz. It wasn’t multiple choice or fill in the blank. It was true or false, did it work or not? There was only about 0.34 inches of rain but it easily handled that amount. Here’s what the drainage looked like before the rain garden was installed:
Here’s what it looked like after the pop quiz.
As you can see I’ve put some of the decorative gravel down. I decided to spread out the cost of the stone over several visits to the store so what you see is only the first three bags. If you look at the pavement you can see very little standing water and some water streaks from where the water went through the dirt that was on the driveway. No puddle! I give this little quiz an A at the moment but a bigger test is still needed to see if it does the trick.
Other Rain Garden Links:
The First Step to Recovery
Digging the rain Garden
On Today’s Agenda: Working on the Rain Garden
The Rain Garden is Almost Done
8 thoughts on “Rain Garden Update”
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Did the water drain past the gravel to the rain garden? Or was it not enough? Will you be able to tell in the actual rain garden if it is getting more water than normal? Curious to see how it works.
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We had a huge area in the back yard next to the patio that held water like crazy. This area is in the shade but I still tried to plant grass but to no avail. Then I had an idea. I put pea-gravel all around the patio area and then allowed the leaves from the trees above to remain on the ground around the gravel but had to add some pine straw to bare areas and that has done the trick. No more standing water! The pea gravel was brown natural looking while in the bags but once placed and it dried, it turned white! I was not happy with that but since the patio is cement white with a red stone border (I put around the pre-existing slab) it seems to work. I added more gravel last spring as it was settling into the ground a bit and becoming bare in spots. Everyone I asked advice on the rock color insisted on me using the white rock again so I did…. I will get the pics to you Dave so you can see what I did….
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Tina,
I really can’t tell if it went all the way to the actual garden itself. As far as I am concerned as long as the water is no longer standing in the driveway it’s a success! We were getting some standing water in the yard from the driveway runoff in major rains so if it’s gone in the yard it is probably in the rain area. I’ll just have to wait for an inch or so of rain at one time to get a good test!
skeeter,
I got the pictures and the area look great! Even with the pea gravel turning white on you it looks good. It sounds like the leaves from your trees and the pine straw helped improve your drainage.
Do you care if I use any of your pictures on the site?
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Interesting idea. We too have a soggy spot (actually several) that I need to tackle. I really wanted to comment on putting your to-do list on your home page. This is a brilliant idea because then the list hits you in the face when you check the blog. Mine has been on a back page where I never look at it. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! I’m going to move mine.
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Thanks Karen! It does help to keep me organized. It also serves as a small directory for the blog so I can go and look at what is done. I just set up a link to the right tag and all the posts that are associated with that item on the list pop up. I need to separate the list into two separate areas. One for the things to do and one for the things that are done.
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Dave, I dont mind at all if you use the pictures…
This is our first house and we are proud of all the work we have done to the house and yard. We have done most everything on a tight budget and would enjoy sharing our work with others to inspire. You don’t need a lot of money to perk things up a bit…. -
your rain garden looks good. we are working on one right now.
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Me,
Good luck with your rain garden! You’ve reminded me that I need to do an update of ours soon. Just make sure that you make it large enough. I could have added several feet to ours to accommodate the water flow from our driveway.
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Your rain garden looks like it is coming along really nicely. I like how you've used plants that reseed so you get plenty of volunteers. My rudbeckia has totally taken over one of my beds and will need to be thinned and tossed. I prefer the purple coneflower. Oh well a flower is a flower. Good luck with your idea of transplanting grasses,their root balls are so dense that it takes hours of digging. I know I've done it and will never do it again!Thanks for sharing
Very nice, Dave! I think you definitely have a winner on your hands!
Hi Dave, The garden is growing and growing…soon you will have a meadow!
Could you give up mowing;-) It could be safer …no runaway mowers! Schizachyrium scoparium/Little Bluestem 'The Blues' would look wonderful in this planting. I found mine at the Cheekwood Wildflower Fair but you might get one on line. gail
We really like your rain garden idea. we have lots of drainage problems in our yard that maybe someday we can get around to working on, and I would really like to use your idea for at least some of it.
The ppl that were here before really made a huge mess of the drainage "trying" to fix it. You just oughta see it to believe it!
Your rain garden is really getting established. That's a project we want to tackle next year. We have a natural depression on the south east side of our property, and I want to plant shade and wet-loving things there. Thanks for the inspiration!
It's coming right along Dave. Looks good.
Wow, that us really a cool idea that many people could use for drainage. It shows how powerful plants can be to be able to help with drainage.
Jake
Great idea. I'm amazed at how some flowers can be so versatile – both drought-tolerant and good for a rain garden!
I suggest you move that zebra grass before it gets a good foothold. Unless you have a backhoe. ;~)