Bioretention is the practice of utilizing the natural filtration and flood control properties of plant communities to filter pollutants from rainwater.  Bioretention facilities can be almost any size and shape and can be located in a variety of areas, including around buildings and parking lots.  But what all bioretention areas have in common is the use of plants tolerant to periods of inundation and drought.

The term rain garden is used to refer to smaller-scale bioretention facilities appropriate to residential properties.  Rain gardens can help collect rainwater runoff from your roof and filter it before allowing it to soak into the soil.  The result is a smaller area of your yard that is inundated during rainfall, which can help in erosion control and protect your yard.  Rain gardens also filter out pollutants from fertilizers and other sources that otherwise would runoff directly into storm water drains leading to our local creeks. 

Rain gardens do not allow water to pond; in fact, standing water in a rain garden will seldom last more than a few hours.  As a result, rain gardens do not provide a breeding ground for mosquitoes.  Rain gardens do, however, provide habitat to  birds, dragonflies, butterflies and other wildlife. 

Rain gardens can beautify those swampy low spots in your yard:

Photo: Sue Rule's for Rain Gardens

Are you interested in creating a rain garden in your yard?  Find out more by downloading an Informational brochure,   published by the University of Wisconsin-Extension and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (pdf).

                           
                            Photo: Maplewood, MN, Rain Gardens

*NEW*  Rain Garden at Batchelor Middle School

Students assisted Master Gardener Candidate Dorothy Owen in the construction of a rain garden at Batchelor Middle School in May.

 

Ready to get started?

A comprehensive guide for contractors to bioretention can be found on the bioretention site of Prince George's County, Maryland. Also aimed at contractors is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's site on natural landscaping.

 

Detailed how-to manual for homeowners, courtesy of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (pdf).   Presentation on How to Build a Rain Garden - Monroe County. (14 MB, PDF)

For advice on what to plant, check our list of plants appropriate to bioretention areas and rain gardens in Central and Southern Indiana (pdf).

Keep in mind that your local nursery may not have many  native plants in stock, despite their hardiness and ease of cultivation.  However, there are nurseries that specialize in native plants.  Plants and seed mixes can be purchased online or by phone from many of these companies.  The EPA has published a list of native planting resources in Indiana.  This list is by no means comprehensive, but it provides a good place to start.  If you are local to Monroe County, you can also contact Hilltop Garden and Nature Center on the Indiana University Campus for information on native plantings. 

Register your rain garden!

MONROE COUNTY
RAiN GARDEN INiTiATiVE

Other Rain Garden & Bioretention Links

Rain Gardens of West Michigan--Learn all the basics of rain gardens from the extensive information on this site.

Gardening with Water Quality in Mind--Another great site about rain gardens.  This site helps you determine how to fit a rain garden into any area of your yard.  It also provides a list of native plant species that do well in rain gardens.

Sue's Rules for Rain Gardens provides good advice on rain garden design and placement.

Backyard Storm Water Marsh--A variation on the basic rain garden idea.

Rain Garden Network-- A good collection of rain garden information and how-to articles.

Maplewood, MN, Rain Gardens--Includes a rain garden care guide to long-term maintenance.

10,000 Rain Gardens--Another great resource for rain garden and rain barrel ideas, this time from Kansas City.  Along a similar vein, check out the 1000 Rain Gardens Project in Madison, Wisconsin.

A good case study on rain garden effectiveness, excerpted from The Minnesota Stormwater Manual (2005), published by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

More rain garden links--from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

                                     

You may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader to read or print these documents

 

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Updated: September 10, 2009

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