We all have heard of the health benefits a relaxing afternoon gardening can bring to your life. Gardening has been a used for many years as a way to take your mind off of the stress a 21th century life can bring you. While you get your hands dirty and start building yourself a nice new garden don’t forget to use the one of the most under utilized source of water we have available. Rainwater is often just swept away or forgotten about as it just seeps back into the sewerline. Well the newest technique in gardening for not only getting free water but helping out the environment is called Rain Gardens.
A rain garden is a planted depression that allows rainwater runoff from impervious urban areas like roofs, driveways, walkways, and compacted lawn areas the opportunity to be absorbed. This reduces rain runoff by allowing stormwater to soak into the ground (as opposed to flowing into storm drains and surface waters which causes erosion, water pollution, flooding, and diminished groundwater).Rain gardens can cut down on the amount of pollution reaching creeks and streams by up to 30%.[citation needed]
Native plants are recommended for rain gardens because they generally don’t require fertilizer and are more tolerant of one’s local climate, soil, and water conditions. The plants — a selection of wetland edge vegetation, such as wildflowers, sedges, rushes, ferns, shrubs and small trees — take up excess water flowing into the rain garden. Water filters through soil layers before entering the groundwater system. Root systems enhance infiltration, moisture redistribution, and diverse microbial populations involved in biofiltration. Also, through the process of transpiration, rain garden plants return water vapor into the atmosphere. A more wide-ranging definition covers all the possible elements that can be used to capture, channel, divert, and make the most of the natural rain and snow that falls on a property. The whole garden can become a rain garden, and all of the individual elements that we deal with in detail are either components of it, or are small-scale rain gardens in themselves.
A raingarden alongside a Solar Hot Water unit can help reduce your carbon footprint greatly and help your home go up in vaule. Call Fl Green energy for a free energy survey so they can help you get on the right track on helping our planet stay green.
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