Three Questions You Must Ask When Planning a Rain Garden
It’s winter and by golly it’s cold out there! Not to worry, spring is right around the corner.
But don’t be without a plan! Now is a great time to get ready and avoid another planting season come and go without a rain garden for your yard.
Your first step is to make sure your yard has rain garden potential.
You’ll want a location :
- where the land slopes gently away from your home;
- with at least 100 square of space available;
- more than 10 feet from any building;
- that receives sunshine at least part of the day.
If you have a spot with those for traits, a rain garden may be possible in your yard.
Your second step is to look inward: are you ready for a rain garden?
Just because you’ve got a good spot doesn’t mean you are ready. Here are three crucial questions to answer before you reach for a shovel:
- Can you afford a rain garden? A typical home rain garden costs $2,000-3,000. If you do all the work yourself, and your site is perfect, you might do it for less than $1,000.
- Will you be away from home more than a week this summer? Your garden is going to need some consistent attention in the first year. Watering during dry times is a must for long-term success.
- Are you dedicated to weeding this year? In the first couple of years, you may need to do a fair amount of weeding to ensure your rain garden plants get well established.
What do you think? If a rain garden still seems like something you might like, here are two things you should do today:
- Sign up for a free water audit with our expert staff, who can answer questions specific to your property and see if you qualify for rebates on your rain garden;
- Sign up for one of Blue Water Baltimore’s rain garden information sessions or, if you are the do-it-yourself type, our more intensive DIY Rain Garden Workshops.
You may be wishing spring was here already so you could get outside and enjoy the sunshine, but you’ve got time: now is the best moment to start preparing to make that rain garden a reality.