Newsletter_vol2issue1 - Central Ohio Rain Garden Initiative

CENTRAL OHIO RAIN GARDEN INITIATIVE
T HE R AIN G ARDENER
1st Quarter 2011
Volume 2, Issue 1
www.centralohioraingardens.org
Rain Garden Planning in 2011: Soils
By Stephanie Suter, Chair
The Central Environmental Nursery Trade Show (CENTS) is
held every year in January, and OSU Nursery Short Courses
are offered at this event. This year I attended the “Rain Garden
Media Panel – Sand Based Media Versus Soil/Compost Mix”.
Wow! A lot of great information was reiterated for us to use
made along these lines: a) We’re planting prairie
here in central Ohio. For this article I was hoping to share
plants in these sandy bioretention soils, and they are
some of the main points that professionals from across our
not used to those soils and often do not survive; b)
state and others have learned in their rain garden projects. The
The high amount of sand needed in bioretention soils
panel for this course was made up of the Director of
create too much infiltration, or if the soil is not
Horticulture from Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens, a soil
prepared correctly (i.e. not enough sand) can actually
scientist from OSU, an engineer, and a landscape designer.
create “concrete” and prevent water from infiltrating; c)
Below are some considerations when planning a rain garden
Garden soils already have the required infiltration
project, either in a community setting or at home.
rates for rain gardens, so we should be planting our
plants in this, just like any other landscaping planted
Bioretention Soils: Many companies offer a bioretention soil
to ensure good infiltration in a rain garden. While these soils
are well intentioned, many are finding that the rain gardens
actually fail. Rain gardens with bioretention soils are failing
bed. The same places that offer bioretention soils do
offer garden soils, mulch, and composts, so we can
still contribute to their local businesses while getting
the right soils for our projects.
across Ohio (including several here in Franklin County),
...continued on page 4
Michigan, Kentucky, and Minnesota. Three main points were
2011 First Quarter Calendar of Events
January
Mid- Jan. through Mar. 18: Annual Plant Sale
Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District has an annual
tree, shrub, and wildlflower sale every year. This year a rain
garden kit, the Blue Thumb Guide to Raingardens, and
CORGI’s rain garden yard signs are being sold, in addition to
rain barrels, composters, and all kinds of native plants and
supplies. Buy all three rain garden items and save $10!
Everything you need to install your rain garden. Pre-order
items at www.franklinswcd.org by March 18th. Pick up will be
in April and May at the Franklin Soil and Water office.
February
Feb. 17: Central OH Stormwater & Erosion Control
Expo
This expo provides the latest information on green
infrastructure research and updates using green
technologies in new projects and urban retrofits for improved
water quality. Find more information, including registration,
exhibitor, and sponsorship forms, at Franklin Soil and
Water’s website: www.franklinswcd.org
March
March 5-13: Oakland Nursery’s Spring Fling
A rain garden presentation will be part of this year’s
th
festivities. Rain gardens will be discussed on March 10 at
7pm at the Oakland Ave. location. Visit
www.oaklandnursery.com for more information!
Page 2
The Rain Gardener
Featured Rain Garden Layout
Submitted by: Amy Dutt, Urban Wild
produces a lacecap type inflorescence.
Shorter shrubs (to 3’ tall) are needed as the ground layer, to
balance the scale of the shrubs already selected. With minimal
pruning in later winter to maintain size and remove suckers,
another native, ‘Iroquois Beauty’ Black chokeberry – Aronia
melanocarpa (C) is a wonderful shorter stature shrub. It
flowers in spring, has glossy green leaves in the summer
turning burgundy in the fall, and deep purple berries into the
winter. Finally, a dwarf globe Arborvitae – Thuja occidentalis
Some of us love the idea of having a rain garden, but aren’t
attracted to the sometimes wild and wooly look of a
perennial garden. If you want to have a rain garden to help
the environment, but don’t want a walk on the wild side, an
all shrub border may be tame enough to have a place of
prominence in your yard.
(D), is a tidy native evergreen that offers cover for birds, winter
interest, and textural contrast. ‘Danica’ or ‘Hetz Midget’ are
just two of the many cultivars to choose from. Evergreens are
repeated at each end of the example design, for visual rhythm
and to aesthetically contain the edges of the garden.
You can see other shrub choices for part sun/shade, full sun,
and full shade below. Look under the Resources tab at
www.centralohioraingardens.org for suppliers of rain garden
plants.
The all shrub border design pictured was co-created by
CORGI members as one type of rain garden design to
choose from for the Brook Run neighborhood rain garden
‘Congabe’
Photo by: Willoway
Nurseries, Inc.
‘Techny Mission’
as a shrub screen
project. With only 4 types of shrubs, each selection must fill
many design needs…textural and color contrast, multiple
layers of height, multi-seasonal interest, and wildlife benefit.
The larger, specimen shrub (A) selected in this example for
part shade is the purple foliaged Ninebark - Physocarpus
opufolius. This native shrub has white spring flowers, dark
and saturated leaf color, and fall berries for birds. You
might try the ‘Coppertina’ or ‘Summerwine’ cultivars. For
striking color contrast, pair the dark Ninebark with the
voluptuous, white- flowering, native Smooth Hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens (B). ‘Annabelle’ and ‘White Dome’
sport large white balls of blooms, while ‘Hayes Starburst’
‘Woodwardii’
Photo by: Willoway
Nurseries, Inc.
‘Globosa Aurea’
Photo by: Willoway
Nurseries, Inc.
Page 3
The Rain Gardener
Featured Plant – Arborvitae
boughs may be used in floral
seepage swamps and mixed conifer
arrangements.
swamp forests. Taking a cue from
There are many uses for Eastern
Arborvitae in the garden. A plant with
upright or pyramidal habit can be used
as a vertical specimen or to screen
views, reaching anywhere from 10-12
feet tall, to over 40 feet tall in tree form.
Photo: R.A. Howard, USDA-NRCS plant database
By Amy Dutt, Urban Wild
The taller globe forms (to 6 feet tall) can
be used as the backbone of a mixed
nature may help choose companion
plants. Plant species that live with
Eastern Arborvitae in native
communities include the trees Red
Maple, Eastern Larch and Birch; the
shrubs Red Osier Dogwood and
Northern Bush Honeysuckle; and a
ground layer of Tussock Sedge,
Horsetail, Ferns and Moss.
This quarter’s featured plant is Eastern
border design, while the dwarf globe
Arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis, also
forms (2 to 3 feet tall) make nice, tidy
These plants are hardy to USDA
known as Eastern or Northern White
edging plants at the front of the border
zones 3-7, grow in full sun to part
Cedar. Eastern Arborvitae is a native
(a native replacement for Boxwood).
shade, and tolerate moisture
evergreen shrub or tree that is available
Cultivars have foliage textures that can
in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. look soft and fern-like, or have shorter
A wide array of visual characteristics is
needles resembling a Juniper. Colors
extremes and calcareous (high pH)
available from a seemingly endless
include emerald green, gold, and pink
Tough and adaptable, there are
number of cultivars of this adaptable
tinged…something to fit any color
cultivars of Eastern Arborvitae that
plant. These evergreens can shelter
birds from hungary predators. The
palette.
would make a great addition to a rain
Eastern Arborvitae is native to Ohio
soils. They require little to no pruning
and provide four seasons of interest.
garden design.
Brook Run Project Update
Sixteen residential gardens and five rain gardens in the right-of-ways were
installed last year in the Brook Run subdivision in Westerville. The right-of-way
rain gardens collect the road drainage, which includes downspout water that is
directed to the street. During the month of November, storm water runoff monitoring
results found a 60% reduction! We anticipated a 55% reduction based on the
amount of impervious surface that drains storm water to the monitoring point.
Imagine how much better the infiltration will be when the plants aren’t dormant
and are fully established!
Funding for this project has been made available through the Ohio EPA’s Environmental Education Fund and the Ohio Water
Development Authority. Partners in this project include: Central Ohio Rain Garden Initiative, Franklin Soil and Water Conservation
District, City of Westerville, The Ohio State University, and of course the wonderful, enthused Brook Run residents.
Don’t forget to submit your rain garden online today!
www.centralohioraingardens.org
Page 4
The Rain Gardener
Rain Garden Planning – Getting Ready for Spring Planning
(…continued from page 1)
Sometimes replacing the native soil with another
soil isn’t necessary at all. This past year, one
homeowner used a bioretention soil for his new
have a negative effect on soil structure. Always have a
back-up “in case of rain” date in place for excavation
and planting and let any volunteers helping the project
know ahead of time.
rain garden that was rather large. After a good rain,
Equipment Compacting Soils: We have an enormous
the water sat and didn’t drain. He removed the
amount of willing and able service department
bioretention soil and replaced it with the native soil
employees, township employees, and volunteers who
he originally took out. After a good rain, his own
have assisted in community projects that are qualified
soil actually drained within the 24 hour period. A
to run bobcats and backhoes for rain garden
good reminder, though, is to be sure to mix in a
excavation. When using their services, be sure to help
couple inches worth of compost to help add
guide them to a successful project by explaining it’s
nutrients back to the soil and to help with drainage.
imperative that the equipment NOT be in the rain
Even when people are mixing the bioretention soils
correctly (small percentage of bioretention soil
mixed into the bottom layer of native soil, and
garden area at any time during excavation. This can
compact soils and prevent proper infiltration and root
establishment.
increase percentage of bioretention soil on the way
Clay Soil: We hear all the time that we can’t use our
up to the top of the rain garden), they are finding
soils for rain gardens because they have so much clay
the plants do not survive and water ends up
in them. This is not true all the time. Some clayey soils
draining way too quickly or not at all. Doing a
can be very poorly drained, but still others are clayey
percolation test prior to excavation and decisions
and can drain very well due to the aggregation of soil
on your soil will help immensely. Please refer to
particles through “microbial glue” (made by secretions)
our website (www.centralohioraingardens.org)
that creates spaces in the soil for water infiltration.
under Garden Planning for percolation test
Again, a percolation test at the beginning of rain
directions.
garden planning will let you know if your clay soils need
Wet Soil: Be sure to avoid planting or excavation
days on a rain garden project when the soil is too
wet, or even too dry. Working the soil while wet can
Submit Your Rain Garden!
to be amended or replaced.
Good luck this year with your rain garden planning!
Remember to visit our website for more information.
Signs
Don’t forget to register your rain garden with us! We
A sign for a rain garden is a good idea to let your
are tracking all of the rain gardens installed in Central
neighbors know that your garden has a purpose.
Ohio. This will help give us a total number of rain
CORGI sells rain garden yard signs for $15, and you
gardens, as well as the amount of storm water being
can fill in the amount of storm water collected per year
collected. Visit www.centralohioraingardens.org to
on these signs. Please call (614) 486-9613 if you are
interested.
register your garden – click on “Submit Your Garden”
on the top right-hand side. You will be able to enter
information about your garden as well as upload a
photo. Don’t forget to remind your project partners or
neighbors to register theirs!
Resources You Can Use
Central Ohio Rain Garden Initiative – www.centralohioraingardens.org
Ohio Utilities Protection Service (OUPS) – www.oups.org or (800)362-2764 or 8-1-1 “Call Before You Dig!”