Has anyone installed a rain garden in your yard? A local non-profit was given a grant or settlement to design and install rain gardens in my area, we applied and were selected but now I'm having second thoughts. The garden can only replace lawn in the front of the house (requirement of the grant), so I'm slightly worried about what it will look like, and I'm hesitant to give up a big chunk of the grass my son plays on. He's almost 4 and prefers to run and play baseball in the front because it's bigger and flatter than the grass in the back/side.
Here's a couple pics of the area in question, with the spot for the garden marked. Thoughts?
A rain garden would be more interesting and potentially much prettier than a lawn, with lower maintenance. From an ecological perspective, a rain garden has a positive effect, but a lawn....not so much.
I can ask about making it smaller, but they cannot do it near the street because it would be cost prohibitive. They are redirecting rainwater from the roof to the garden, and would need to dig some sort of trench or pipe.
Post by InBetweenDays on Jun 22, 2017 21:38:10 GMT -5
It may have to be that big to handle the amount of runoff from your roof. If we could have one I'd put one in, but we live on a sensitive slope so we don't qualify. There are lots of rain gardens in our neighborhood and they're much more interesting than traditional lawns.
I will say make sure they do a thorough infiltration test of your native soil so you don't end up with standing water after big rains.