Valley Green Tips: Harnessing the rain

A newly planted rain garden adjacent to a vanishing waterfall designed by Greg Bossart of Rock n Waters in Freedom. (COURTESY PHOTO)

You’ve probably had it with the rain in Mount Washington Valley. And I’m sure this is an understatement, but don’t curse the rainwater — harness it.  There are several ways to harness rainwater, save money, beautify your yard and help the environment.

The easiest technique is to buy or make a rain barrel, and position it under a downspout. A 50-plus gallon rain barrel can capture enough rainwater to quench the thirst of your plants when it’s sunny and dry, with possibly enough leftover to rinse the dust off your car. The rain barrel is an effective way to conserve water and save money on your water bills. Make sure your barrel includes a screen for leaves and mosquitoes and has a lock cover to prevent young children and small animals from drowning. A spigot at the base allows for easy water dispersement.

Then there’s the “bioretention area” or rain garden that is positioned in a low area or depression in a yard. The rain garden collects rainwater runoff from roofs and paved areas, and allows it to recharge the groundwater supply by seeping naturally into the ground. This prevents stormwater runoff across hard surfaces that could pick up pollutants — from organic particles and fertilizers to chemical residues — and funnel them into storm drains, streams, lakes and rivers. Because rain gardens are planted with an assortment of flowering native plants, adaptable to both wet and dry environments, they are attractive and easy-to-maintain.

Additionally, these gardens attract beneficial wildlife including butterflies, dragonflies and birds, says Greg Bossart of Rock n Waters in Freedom. Mosquitoes are not usually a problem because of the beneficial wildlife eat mosquitoes, he says, and because the water seeps fairly quickly into the ground instead of pooling for long periods of time.

Tips

1.  You can get yourself a rain barrel at local garden centers or hardware stores, or search on line for instructions on how to make one.

2. To get a first-hand look at what a rain garden involves, check out the 80X20 foot garden that Mountain Garden Club is putting in at Children’s Unlimited at 182 West Main Street in Conway.  You can even learn by doing by volunteering a little bit of time on the morning of Saturday, June 11 to plant the native shrubs and perennials that will comprise the rain garden.  Start time is 9 a.m. RSVP to J Andrews or to Ralph Lutjen at Ralph@lutjen.us.

3. If you want go one step further and learn all of the ins and outs of planning and planting a rain garden on your property, the UNH Cooperative Extension is hosting a Rain Garden Workshop?from 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Wednesday, June 1 at the Urban Forestry Center in Portsmouth. A similar workshop is being planned for Carroll County in the fall.  For more information, contact Deb Steven at UNH Cooperative Extension at deb.stevens@unh.edu or 679-5616.

4. Prefer to let someone else do the work? You can outsource a rain garden project to local landscape designers.

Let it rain … some of the time … and sit back and enjoy the bounty.