Rain gardens encompass all possible elements that can be used to capture, channel, divert and make the most of the rain and snow that fall on a property. They have the potential to make beautiful additions to our environment. Rain Gardens is the first book on sustainable water management schemes suitable for students and professionals.

Homeowners spend hundreds of dollars watering their yard, but there is an easy way to save money and resources—rain gardening. But what is it? As simple as collecting rain to reuse in front and backyards. Creating Rain Gardens is a comprehensive book for the DIY-er, covering everything from rain barrels to simple living roofs, permeable patios, and other low-tech affordable ways to save water in the garden. Water conservation experts Cleo Woelfle-Erskine and Apryl Uncapher walk homeowners through the process, with step-by-step instructions for designing and building swales, French drains, rain gardens, and ephemeral ponds—the building blocks of rain-catching gardens. From soil preparation, planting, troubleshooting, and maintenance, to selecting palettes of water-loving plants that provide four-season interest and a habitat for wildlife, Creating Rain Gardens covers everything a gardener needs to create a beautiful rain garden at home.

Rain pounds the Pacific Northwest, gushing through dirty downspouts, across chemically treated lawns, over oily streets and through public storm drains into bays, rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands where nature struggles to survive among the pollutants. It’s a problem caused by population density and it’s one that you can help solve. Rain Gardens for the Pacific Northwest shows you how to trap and filter dirty water safely in your yard—and how to do that with a beautiful addition to your home. Zsofia Pasztor, a Certified Professional Horticulturalist, shares what she’s learned over the years experimenting with rain gardens in the challenging clay and hardpan soils of the region. The book answers questions that Zsofia regularly encounters in her workshops, including: • Can I build a rain garden myself? • Can a rain garden be too big or too small? • Can I create a low-maintenance rain garden? • Will my rain garden attract mosquitos? • How do you know if your infiltration system is in a “safe” location? • If my rain garden isn’t working (e.g., not draining), how can I fix it without starting over? With photos and illustrations throughout, lists of best plants, and a comprehensive resources section, this easy-to-use guide shows Northwest gardeners, homeowners, and DIY-ers how to plan, design, install, and maintain their own healthy, natural, and beautiful rain garden.

This comprehensive and hardworking guide features plant picks, design advice, and successful growing information for home gardeners in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.

What is a Rain Garden? The concept of rain gardens was developed in the late 1980s in Prince George's County, MD, and is termed "bioretention". The idea was to use planted areas as a sponge to soak up polluted stormwater and filter out impurities before allowing the water to slowly be absorbed into groundwater aquifers. Stormwater management has become quite costly for municipalities. The use of bioretention facilities is much more cost-effective than traditional stormwater methods, and this approach treats water as a resource, not as waste. This guide provides readers with step-by-step instructions for designing and installing a rain garden on their property. A rain garden is a type of stormwater best management practice. They collect and cleanse rainwater and snowmelt by allowing it to be absorbed into the ground rather than it draining into the street and into the storm sewer system. Homeowners and business owners can add value to their property and improve local water quality by adding a rain garden to their landscapes. Native plants can be used in rain gardens and provide excellent habitats for birds, bees, and butterflies. It features updated design calculations, material specifications, plant lists, and maintenance checklists. Readers begin by learning the importance of rain gardens and where to located them in a yard. Two designs are offered, basic and enhanced rain gardens, the latter featuring subdrain infrastructure. Detailed instructions are provided for calculating the correct size and depth for managing most rainfall events in Iowa. Once the design is complete, instructions are included for creating a comprehensive list of materials and installing a rain garden as a DIY project or as a contractor-led project. The final chapters provide guidance on plant selection and rain garden maintenance. Several helpful appendices are included, such as sample rain garden plant layouts and how to calculate soil amendments.

A rain garden is a landscaped feature that replaces an area of your lawn in order to collect the stormwater (rain and melted snow) that runs off your grass, roof, and driveway. This shallow depression has loose, deep soil that absorbs and naturally filters the runoff, preventing it from entering the storm drain system and, eventually, our waterways. Rain gardens complement any style of landscape and can be adapted to personal preferences. They can be large or small and can take advantage of pockets of space in your yard. In this book, you will discover: - What Is A Rain Garden? - Why Fabricate A Downpour Garden? - Designing Your Rain Garden - Development Of Rain Gardening - Total Estimated Construction Time And so much more! Scroll up and click the "Buy now with 1-Click" button to get your copy now!

“Fearless Gardening encourages you—exhorts you—to boldly go forth and claim your garden as a space of joy and creativity.” —Jennifer Jewell, creator and host of public radio’s Cultivating Place Embrace your inner rebel and create the garden you want—even if it breaks the rules. Loree Bohl, the voice behind the popular blog The Danger Garden, shows how it’s done in Fearless Gardening, with zone-busting ideas and success stories. Bohl’s own gorgeous home garden inspires, with agaves that shrug off ice storms, palms that thrive in the rain, and planting risks that are beautifully rewarded.

“A beautifully-written, practical guide to planning and creating your own rain garden.” —Green Upgrader You probably spend hundreds of dollars watering your yard, but there is an easy way to save money and resources—by collecting rain to reuse in front and backyards. In Creating Rain Gardens, water conservation experts Cleo Woelfle-Erskine and Apryl Uncapher walk you through the entire process, with step-by-step instructions for designing and building swales, French drains, rain gardens, and ephemeral ponds. From soil preparation, planting, troubleshooting, and maintenance, to selecting palettes of water-loving plants that provide four-season interest and a habitat for wildlife, Creating Rain Gardens covers everything you need to create a beautiful rain garden at home.

CLICK HERE to download sample native plants from Real Gardens Grow Natives For many people, the most tangible and beneficial impact they can have on the environment is right in their own yard. Aimed at beginning and veteran gardeners alike, Real Gardens Grow Natives is a stunningly photographed guide that helps readers plan, implement, and sustain a retreat at home that reflects the natural world. Gardening with native plants that naturally belong and thrive in the Pacific Northwest’s climate and soil not only nurtures biodiversity, but provides a quintessential Northwest character and beauty to yard and neighborhood! For gardeners and conservationists who lack the time to read through lengthy design books and plant lists or can’t afford a landscape designer, Real Gardens Grow Natives is accessible yet comprehensive and provides the inspiration and clear instruction needed to create and sustain beautiful, functional, and undemanding gardens. With expert knowledge from professional landscape designer Eileen M. Stark, Real Gardens Grow Natives includes: * Detailed profiles of 100 select native plants for the Pacific Northwest west of the Cascades, plus related species, helping make plant choice and placement. * Straightfoward methods to enhance or restore habitat and increase biodiversity * Landscape design guidance for various-sized yards, including sample plans * Ways to integrate natives, edibles, and nonnative ornamentals within your garden * Specific planting procedures and secrets to healthy soil * Techniques for propagating your own native plants * Advice for easy, maintenance using organic methods