Rain Gardens
Protecting Lake Erie One Yard at a Time
Rain gardens are attractive landscaped areas planted with perennial native plants that do not mind getting "wet feet." Build in a saucer shape, rain gardens allow water to percolate into the ground. The benefits of rain gardens are multiple. Rain gardens:
- Help keep water clean by filtering storm water runoff before it enters local waterways
- Help alleviate problems with flooding and drainage
- Enhance the beauty of yards and communities
- Provide habitat and food for wildlife like birds and butterflies
Recent studies by the US Environmental Protection Agency have shown that a substantial amount of the pollution in our streams, rivers and lakes is carried there by runoff from practices we carry out in our own yards and gardens! Some of the common "non-point source pollutants" from our yards end up in our local waterways include soil, fertilizers, pesticides, pet wastes, grass clippings and other yard debris.
Planting rain
gardens is a great way to help our communities "bloom," making them
more attractive places to live while maintaining watershed health!
From May - September, Cuyahoga SWCD sells Rain
Garden Plant Kits. Click
here for more information.
Click here to see our
rain garden projects
Click here to see a virtual rain garden (courtesy of University of
Nebraska-Lincoln)
Rain Garden Resources
Places to buy Native Plants locally
- Avalon Gardens, Chardon, OH
- Biodiversity Landscape Design and Supply Company – Leroy Twp, Ohio -440-254-3168
- Bremec on the Heights, Cleveland Heights, OH
- Green Circle Growers, Oberlin, OH
- Kline Nursery Sales, Perry, OH
- Licursi Home & Garden - Kirtland, OH
- Ohio Prairie Nursery - Hiram, OH
- Spence Restoration Nursery, Indiana (not so local, but huge selection)
Places to buy Rain Garden Soil Mixture
- Kurtz Brothers - Bio-Retention Soil mix
- or you can make your own - the recommended soil mix for a rain garden is 50-60% sand, 30-40% loamy topsoil (from your local garden store or landscape supplier) and 5-10% organic matter (from your yard waste compost)
Other Resources
- LEAP for Biodiversity - Lake Erie Allegheny Partnership for Biodiversity
- Native Plant Society of Northeastern Ohio
- Wild Ones Western Reserve Chapter
- Be on the lookout for a native plant sale like ours or Cleveland Museum of Natural History or the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes
(please call Cuyahoga SWCD if you know
of local resources we missed!)