Riley B., Grade 12 made an incredible Rain Garden design for her yard!!!
"I chose to put my rain garden in the area that I did, because I believe that it would be the most efficient there. It is located at the bottom of a slope which will really help with the direction of the water flow from the underground pipe that I would install. This area is also free from trees and isn’t swampy so those won’t be problematic factors. Another factor that I thought was very important for the location is that it is located right next to the stream that runs through my yard. This will allow all the water that overflows in the garden to drain directly into the stream. The good thing about my house is that I have multiple drain points in my yard so all the water runoff can be divided up.
For the deepest level of the garden, I chose to plant Deer fern and Red Twig Dogwood. I chose these plants for that level because they both are very drought resistant and are bigger than the other plants so that they should be able to be seen when the other plants are growing on the higher levels. I also chose these plants because I liked how they looked aesthetically. Out of all the plants the Red Twig Dogwood is probably my favorite because it gives off such a pop of color and I liked how the deer fern complimented that by makinging the red more prominent.
For the level in the middle that doesn’t get as much water than the deepest level, I chose Wild Ginger, Lupine, and Pacific Aster. I chose these plants not only because they fit the requirements to strive in a rain garden but how they look and the colors that they bring to the palette. The wild Ginger is a very simple plant but gives a very rainforest vibe to the garden. I chose the other two plants because they have very beautiful unique flowers that were very visually pleasing in my eyes.
Finally for the shallowest level in the garden, I chose to plant Evergreen Huckleberry and Western Columbine. These plants proved to survive in the conditions of the rain garden. I chose the Evergreen Huckleberry because I believe that it will add a new texture to the garden and provide berries that I think would look really good. I also chose the Western Columbine because I love the flower on it and the red and yellow from it give the garden another pop of color."
