Re: Rain Garden Redoux (sp?)

**N* S* <s*@earthlink.net>**

Lois, My gardens are stuffed with the so called exotics and they  
support all the little critters you mention below. Jeff and I are not
against using natives.

We think a more flexible plant list will be more appealing to most  
homeowners and that is the idea, is it not?  Most of the plantings  
I've seen look great in a country setting, but they stick out like  
sore thumbs in suburbs.
Nancy Szerlag
On Aug 6, 2007, at 4:10 PM, loisdan@juno.com wrote:

> Sorry Jeff,
>
> You've oversimplified the concept of stormwater gardens. They  
> generally
> do not "move" water, but rather hold it in an engineered basin of one
> sort or another: Detention, retention, or infiltration, for the  
> purpose
> of allowing it to recharge groundwater without flood, erosion, or  
> other
> environmental damage. I've also seen them called bio-retention basins.
> Generally they exist because they are a trade-off for destroying some
> other native habitat on the property, in order to build the  
> development.
> Hence, the desire for native vegetation. A properly planted (wet- 
> loving
> plants that can stand in water at the bottom; dry-tolerant plants that
> can withstand an occasional deluge at the top) basin is filled with
> wildlife -- frogs, salamanders, turtles, snakes, butterflies,
> dragonflies, birds, and small mammals. You won't get the same thing  
> with
> exotics. The replacement of native habitat is the purpose of the
> stormwater garden.
>
> To further complicate matters, there are both wet basins and dry  
> basins.
> Wet basins are somewhat like a large pond (no fish allowed) and are  
> meant
> to contain water all of the time. During dry periods, water may  
> have to
> be added to keep a wet pond biologically balanced to perform the  
> work it
> is meant to do. Dry basins are the more typical detention,  
> retention, or
> infiltration basin that dries out after holding and releasing the  
> water
> over a period of several days to a week.
>
> Thanks for providing a forum for me to spread the word. Gardening mags
> don't seem interested in this topic, even though it affects  
> hundreds of
> thousands of homeowners through their homeowners' associations.
>
> Regards,
> Lois J. de Vries
>
>
> On Mon, 6 Aug 2007 15:37:11 -0400 Jeff Ball <jeffball@usol.com>  
> writes:
>> I posted a blog entry last week about my thoughts a about something
>>
>> called “rain gardens”.  I simultaneously posted the piece on this
>> listserv. I got some really good feedback which I will try to
>> summarize.  GWL is a great group!
>>
>>   Rain Garden vs. Storm Garden vs. Bog Garden Confusion
>>
>> There was a strong distinction made between rain gardens/bog gardens
>>
>> and storm gardens.
>>
>>   Storm gardens are specifically designed to redirect storm water,
>>
>> often in large amounts.  The storm garden is usually large and is
>> most often constructed by a landscaping company using guidelines
>> from
>> state or local government.  The storm garden appears to be first a
>>
>> mechanism to redirect water and second a place to grow plants.
>>
>>   A Rain Garden in most views is what we have for years called a Bog
>>
>> Garden.  This is a garden that is placed in an area that is either
>>
>> always a bit wet (like a bog) or gets hit with a lot of water in a
>>
>> short time such as an area at the base of a rain spout draining rain
>>
>> off a roof.  A rain garden in this context then is not designed to
>>
>> move large amounts of storm water.  It is designed to be a site
>> where
>> water loving plants can thrive and if it slows down the movement of
>>
>> rain off the roof, so much the better.
>>
>>   I now understand that the seminar I attended, dealing with “rain
>>
>> gardens” was really about “storm gardens”.
>>
>> Not to be unexpected, I got stomped gracefully about my comments
>> concerning the implied requirement that rain gardens or storm
>> gardens
>> should be planted exclusively with native plants.  The only argument
>>
>> I can find for such a position is that native plants often have very
>>
>> deep root systems which are assumed to be able to help remove more
>>
>> water; I don’t buy that assumption, but who’s counting?  I go for a
>>
>> mix of natives and exotics.  The natives are more important to
>> support birds, insects, and other critters needed for a balanced
>> ecosystem.  Don’t hit me, but I think the exotics are usually more
>>
>> attractive.
>>
>>   What became very clear from the many comments from fellow garden
>>
>> writers was that government at the local, county, state and federal
>>
>> levels have no agreement on the definition of terms nor any clue
>> about any standardized, proven engineered techniques for dealing
>> with
>> the redirection of storm water using storm gardens.  I have no idea
>>
>> who should help these poor bureaucrats get their act together; there
>>
>> is probably no hope to avoid 50 different sets of laws requiring
>> only
>> 20 different approaches to the problem.
>>
>>   So here is my shot at a set of definitions
>>
>> Storm Garden – any garden designed to, in some manner, redirect
>> large
>> volumes of storm water away from the municipal storm sewer system.
>>
>> The plants used in a storm garden are not relevant to whether it can
>>
>> perform its function.  They just make the garden aesthetically
>> acceptable.
>>
>>   Rain Garden – A relative of the bog garden, this garden is a
>> residential scale garden located to serve as a absorber of rain
>> water
>> coming off a roof or down a driveway.  Again the design is first to
>>
>> handle a fairly large surge of water in a short period of time, but
>>
>> then have plants that can handle living in a wet environment for at
>>
>> least a few days.  Again I see no need to specify the exclusive use
>>
>> of native plants.  The plants just have to be able to handle wet
>> feet.
>>
>>   Bog Garden – This is a residential garden that can be located
>> anywhere.  Its design requires that various techniques and materials
>>
>> are used to keep the soil in the garden on the moist to wet
>> condition.  In this wet environment, only bog plants or water loving
>>
>> plants will grow.  Removal of storm water or even rain water is not
>> a
>> function of the design of the bog garden.
>>
>>   Maybe everyone else is still upset but I feel better.
>>
>>   Jeff
>>
>> jeffball@usol.com
>> 810-724-8581
>> Check out my daily blog at www.gardeneryardener.blogspot.com
>> Check out my extensive web site at www.yardener.com
>>
>>
>>
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Nancy Szerlag
Columnist for Detroit News
szerlag@earthlink.net
Check blog at www.gardeneryardener.blogspot.com

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