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More and more, we are experiencing alarming rainfall amounts. We see it across the country and in our own town. Those long-ago, fleeting summer showers from our childhood have morphed into deluges.
Heavy rainfall is increasingly common and those rain events are happening with more frequency. We see the result in local flooding, as sheets of water rush off lawns, sidewalks, roads, and other impervious surfaces. Storm drains cannot handle the volume.
Graphic credit: Missouri Botanical Garden
Rainscaping with native plants is one way to fight back. Rainscaping is planting with a mind to absorb rainfall. The “old” procedure was to push water away to streets, to storm drains, to the stream at the end of the road and into drinking water systems. It’s now understood that we need to keep the rain where it falls. It allows the natural filtering process to work as rain is slowly absorbed into the ground. It also gives aquifers a chance to recharge.
Why native plants? Native plants are beneficial in many ways. Unlike non-native plants, grasses and annuals, native plant root systems are dense and complex. Think of them as a Sham-Wow or a super sponge. They offer extraordinary absorbency.
How can you add Rainscaping to your own yard? Take a look at your yard.
Problem areas with water runoff or flooded areas? Turf lawns do not slow water down. It is a speedway allowing rainfall to move quickly, usually into the street and storm drains.
Shrink your lawn with plantings, including grasses
Add alternative lawn options like sedges and mosses
Low areas benefit from shrubs, trees, and grasses to absorb excess water.
If you have a pond on your property or your yard abuts a watercourse, you can create a buffer with shrubs and herbaceous plants to filter pollutants and slow down the force of heavy rain events, which can be a cause for erosion.
Other Rainscaping ideas include rain barrels to harvest rainfall. You might consider a rain garden, as well. Designs for rain gardens can vary. You can always modify plans to simplify the garden.
Learn all about Rainscaping from the Missouri Botanical Garden.
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