Re: Rain Garden Redoux (sp?)

**l*@juno.com**

I understand. I think we may be talking apples and oranges. I'm talking
about stormwater gardens, which are generally (though not always) very
large -- one half to several acres in size. It would not be in your yard,
but on some common property owned by the homeowners' association. The
idea of it is that they should become self-sustaining and require zero
maintenance of the plantings after 18-24 months. On brief trips, I've
seen them in southern Minnesota, which has a climate and environment very
like New Jersey and in Arizona. Those in Arizona are more for flood
control and are huge (tens of acres). Those I saw in Scottsdale were
along the highway and could be seen from a distance as a swath of green
native plants in an otherwise desert environment.

I am not against exotic plants, other than those that have become
invasive, and I have them in my own garden. I am not a native-plants-only
person, except in certain circumstances. They are fine in a rain garden,
but unacceptable in a stormwater garden. NJDEP guidance specifically
states: "Exotic (non-native) vegetation should not be specified."
Different types of basins are meant to perform different jobs, so the
specific plants will also differ. The NJDEP BMPs state: "Plant selection
should be based on the goal of simulating a terrestrial forested
community of native species.......By creating a diverse, dense plant
cover, a bioretention facility will be able to treat runoff and withstand
urban stresses from insects, disease, drought, temperature, wind, and
exposure."

No matter where located, the concept is for the stormwater basin to
become integrated into the natural environment. You are absolutely right.
There are many suburban developments in which all trace of the natural
environment has been eradicated. 

No offense intended, but I think your statement that native plantings
"stick out like sore thumbs in suburbs," is a sad testimony of just how
disconnected from our natural environment many Americans have become. Sad
because it is also true.

Regards,
Lois

On Mon, 6 Aug 2007 22:30:49 -0400 Nancy Szerlag <szerlag@earthlink.net>
writes:
> 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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> >>
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> 
> Nancy Szerlag
> Columnist for Detroit News
> szerlag@earthlink.net
> Check blog at www.gardeneryardener.blogspot.com
> 
> 
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> 
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