What’s a Rain Garden?
A rain garden is a depression created in your landscape to allow rainwater from your roof or driveway to slowly soak into the ground instead of running off into the nearest stream or Puget Sound. Native soils are removed and replaced with a special blend of high organic soil, bioretention, and mulch. Rain gardens are then planted with beautiful, hardy, low-maintenance native perennial plants that can withstand drought and wet root conditions.
These gardens serve multiple purposes:
Enhance Landscaping: They improve the appearance of homes and yards.
Habitat Creation: Rain gardens provide habitat for beneficial insects and birds.
Pollutant Filtration: They filter oil and grease from driveways, pesticides, and fertilizers from lawns, preventing them from reaching groundwater or storm drains and eventually streams, wetlands, lakes, and marine waters.
Flood Reduction: By absorbing runoff from hard surfaces, rain gardens reduce flooding on neighboring properties, overflows in sewers, and erosion in streams.
Groundwater Recharge: They increase the amount of water that soaks into the ground, recharging local groundwater.
If you’re interested in building a rain garden, qualified properties in Snohomish County and on Camano Island are eligible to receive support from the Snohomish Conservation District. Reach out at outreach@snohomishcd.org to learn more about the process and how they can assist you. Additionally, there are many resources available for homeowners who want to build rain gardens on their own.
