Plant a rain garden with help from American Native Plants!
Is your landscape in need of an upgrade? Adding a rain garden is an elegant and functional solution to how you use rainwater and runoff in your landscape. If you’re like us, your home has plenty of runoff during the rainy seasons. All of this water comes with a few concerns – what do you use it for, so it’s not going to waste, how do you effectively keep it away from your home, and how do you ensure it doesn’t pool and attract pests like mosquitos? Adding a rain garden helps solve all of these issues. When designed properly, it gives you a safe place to divert water where beautiful native plants will absorb it quickly to help improve the look of your space.
Find The Right Site
Using a map of your yard (with the utilities and septic tank well marked) and a level, check for areas where there is a downward slope and where runoff from your gutters flows. You want to be sure the site is at least ten feet away from your home and that you’re avoiding any utilities or septic tanks. Once you’ve found a site that seems possible, dig a six-inch deep hole to fill with water. If, after 24 hours, there is still water in the hole, the site is not a good fit as the soil isn’t permeable.
Start Digging
Getting started on your rain garden is easy, you’ll simply be digging a flat, level trench and using the extra soil to create a high lip or berm on the three sides. The berms help to ensure that water stays in the garden and that the plants have enough time to get it absorbed.
Get Planting
Now for the fun part, choosing your native plants! Working with a local specialist, like our team at American Native Plants, can help you find the perfect fit for your particular environment. In general, it’s easiest to stick with perennials in a mix of sizes. Smaller plants like ferns and sedges, mixed with shrubs and small trees like red maple and river birch will help to create a diverse and stunning range of textures and colors to make your garden beautiful no matter the season.
AMERICAN NATIVE PLANTS
Whether you’re looking to build a rain garden or beautify your property, American Native Plants can provide you with the right plants for the job. With an inventory of over 400,000 native trees, native shrubs, and herbaceous plants consider American Native Plants your one-stop shop for wholesale native plant needs.
Our nursery, conveniently located in Middle River, Maryland, is open year-round to accommodate your native plant needs. We are constantly updating and increasing our inventory to meet the demands of our customers.
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