Keeping gutters and downspouts clear of debris facilitates rainwater collection.
When rain hits a roof, it falls off the drip line of a house or it is diverted by gutters and downspouts. Either way, rainwater settles into the ground around the perimeter of a house, often just a few inches from its foundation. Using downspouts to irrigate a flower bed creates a floral aesthetic and protects a home's foundation from moisture. Does this Spark an idea?
Rain Gardens
Irrigating a flower bed with rainwater runoff uses a renewable resource that is channeled into the landscape instead of into storm drains and retention ponds. Rain gardens are not bog gardens. Rain gardens fill with water that soaks into the ground without creating pools of standing water. Since mosquito larvae require standing water to mature, rain gardens are not breeding grounds for them. Instead, flower beds established in rain gardens attract birds and butterflies.
Design Basics
Rain garden flower beds should be sited at least 10 feet away from a home's foundation and away from septic tanks. Attaching a flexible extension to the bottom of a downspout and covering it with mulch or burying it underground hides it from view. If the rain garden is located on a slope, building a raised berm at the low side of the garden helps retain water and prevents erosion. Stones placed around the base of the berm anchor it more firmly in place.
Flowers
Native plants and water-loving plants are good selections for rain gardens. Plants with "swamp" in their names, such as swamp hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus), swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) and swamp sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius), are sound choices. Any plant that can endure periods of temporary flooding alternating with periods of drought will withstand conditions in rain garden flower beds. University extension offices maintain lists of plants by region that are best suited for growing in rain gardens.
Rain Barrels
Rain barrels also provide downspout irrigation for flower beds. Rain directed by downspouts into rain barrels is collected and used to water plantings during periods of drought. Faucets installed at the base of rain barrels can release water into buckets for spot watering or can connect to soaker hoses, or weep hoses. Barrels can be installed as stand-alone collectors or as an intermediate step in the irrigation of a rain garden. Overflow pipes installed near the top of rain barrels can channel excess water into the rain garden while the barrel acts as a reservoir for irrigating other plants outside the rain garden during drought.
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