Rain gardens are low maintenance, but not NO maintenance. You worked hard to create your rain garden, and to keep it working well for you and looking its best, some regular care is required.

If it doesn't rain, water your plants until they are established. Once the deep root system has grown into the soil, they will probably survive a drought. But until then, just like any newly planted perennials, they need water to get started. (Hint--use water from your rain barrel!).

Break strong water flow. The area where water flows into your garden can, during frog-strangling thunder storms, erode soil, mulch, and plants (think of the Grand Canyon--water can do a lot of work). A few strategically placed rocks, boulders, or stone dams in this area of strong water flow can break the force and prevent this from happening.

Mulch your rain garden. If you have a formal rain garden, 3 inches of shredded hardwood mulch should be applied in the spring after the plants break dormancy, or if bare areas appear, more often (note: take care not to bury plant crowns. Some plants are dormant until late spring and mulch may cause the plant to rot and die). Chipped bark mulch can also be used, but tends to float. Mulch keeps the garden moist and spongelike, ready to absorb rain. It prevents a hardpan from developing on the surface of the garden. Mulch protects the plants in the garden as they get established and makes it easier to weed. It also gives your garden a formal appearance that many people find very attractive.

Weed regularly. A nicely prepared rain garden is a great place for invasive plants to start growing. Siberian elms, honeysuckle, mulberry seedlings, garlic mustard, and the dreaded purple loosestrife will all take advantage of that nice loose soil you have worked so hard on. This is where mulch comes in handy; it will be simple to just pull those little seedlings out before they get established (If you have trouble identifying weeds, check out the NPS.Gov alien plant site for assistance).

Don't park or drive on your rain garden.  Just like a septic field, it needs to be protected from getting squashed. Otherwise, it will not be able to absorb your rain!

Don't let sediment, soil, sand, or debris flow into your rain garden. It can bury the plants, destroy the absorbancy, and ruin all your efforts.

Keep an eye on the plants. If a plant isn't thriving where you placed it, don't be shy about moving it to another location in the rain garden. A rain garden has different zones of wet, wet to dry, and drier areas, and sometimes it isn't easy to tell exactly where a particular plant will grow best until it has rained a few times. A rain garden is a living system; go with the flow.

Enjoy your rain garden! If you install a rain garden in the West Michigan area, we would like to hear about it. Please let us know!

References for the Create A Garden section:

L. S. Coffman and D. A. Winogradoff, 2001, 2002. Prince George's County Bioretention Manual. Program and Planning Division, Dept. of Environmental Resources, Prince George's County, Maryland.

Maplewood, Minnesota Department of Public Works, Engineering Division, 2003. Rainwater gardens. http://www.ci.maplewood.mn.us

B. Damrosch, 1988. The Garden Primer. Workman Publishing Company, NY NY.  

Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, 2002, 2003. http://www.wildflower.org/

Wild Ones, 2003. Native Plants, Natural Landscapes. http://www.for-wild.org/