Rain gardens are popping up all over Michigan, including the Lansing area, and their benefits go beyond their aesthetic appeal — they also absorb and filter stormwater that typically flows into storm drains, rivers and lakes, taking pollutants with them. A rain garden is dug into the ground and designed to gather stormwater flowing into it, soaking into the soil and sustaining the plants as it is naturally filtered, said Patricia Pennell, program director of Rain Gardens of West Michigan and the West Michigan Environmental Action Council. Stormwater is rain that runs off of residential and commercial properties and streets rather than being absorbed by the ground as it naturally would be, she said. Rain gardens also benefit the ecosystem, especially if they contain native plants which attract different types of wildlife, such as birds, butterflies and bees, as well as other types of plants that may sprout up, said Pennell.
During the past few hundred years, urbanization has led to the construction of many impervious surfaces such as paved roads and parking lots, removing the natural vegetation and compacting the soil, limiting opportunity for water absorption, Pennell said. Manicured lawns also are problematic because the soil is so compacted, she said.
“I’m a great believer in (rain gardens) because as civilization grows we’re just paving the whole Earth over,” said Ann Hancock, horticulturist for the MSU Perennial Gardens at the Horticulture Demonstration Gardens. “I think everybody should have a rain garden (then) our groundwater would be a lot cleaner.”
The city of Lansing recently added a number of rain gardens to manage stormwater, Pennell said.
Construction of the rain gardens in downtown Lansing began in the spring and is just coming to completion, said Dan Christian, director of water resources for Tetra Tech, a consulting and engineer firm that collaborated on the project. The rain gardens, which are positioned along four city blocks on Michigan Avenue between Sparrow Health System and Oldsmobile Park, cost Tetra Tech about $15,000 in grant money to build, he said.
The city did not pay for the rain gardens, but is responsible for them and any maintenance they may require, such as garbage removal which may be needed soon because of a problem with littering, Christian said.
The Red Cedar Chapter of Wild Ones Native Gardeners, a group dedicated to educating people on the importance of planting native species, held a rain garden walk last week in downtown Lansing to view and discuss the new rain gardens, said Mary Leys, publicity chairwoman of the Red Cedar Chapter of Wild Ones Native Gardeners.
“(The walk) went very well, we had a good turnout,” she said.
“We started out with one of the landscape architects that had been on the project, (and) he described how they were built and gave us a plant list with all of the different species used.”
The rain gardens are about four feet deep and contain predominantly native species of flowers and other small plants, Christian said.
Sue Millar, president of the Red Cedar Chapter of Wild Ones Native Gardeners, said there are practical advantages to planting native species in rain gardens. Native species are relatively low-maintenance because they do not require any fertilizers or pesticides and have a relatively high drought tolerance, she said.
“I am hoping to (build a rain garden in my yard), I don’t have one yet,” said Leys. “That’s one of the reasons I went on the walk Wednesday to get some ideas.”
Pennell also taught a rain garden workshop Saturday at MSU’s Department of Horticulture, which provided an opportunity for local residents to learn about the benefits of rain gardens in urban environments and how to build them. Christian said the owner of Tetra Tech installed a couple of commercial rain gardens by the Tetra Tech building, located on East Miller Road, to combat some localized flooding problems.
“We solved the local drainage problems on site and everyone really enjoys the gardens,” he said.
Pennell said there are a few guidelines to consider when building a rain garden: Be cautious of gas mains and utility lines when digging, make sure that the rain garden is positioned downhill and at least 10 feet away from the foundation of any building and properly prepare the soil by digging it up and sifting it, to allow for absorption.
Pennell said she recommends using plants that are native to Michigan, such as swamp milkweed or prairie dog plants, in rain gardens.
Swamp milkweed is an easy plant to grow that comes in two varieties, pink or red, and has pretty pods in the fall, Pennell said. Prairie dog is ideal because it doesn’t mind being drowned occasionally and also can sustain itself during periods of drought because its 9-foot-long roots can pull water from deep underground, she said.
Pennell said more people are taking steps to make their properties more sustainable and her office building in Grand Rapids has also taken the initiative.
“In Grand Rapids we’re doing a lot of things here to manage stormwater,” she said. “We have a green roof, completely covered in plants at our office in Grand Rapids and in the summer, 100 percent of our stormwater is managed by the roof and the rain garden behind the building.”
Laurie Kaufman, a member of Wild Ones Native Gardeners, said she began gardening at her lakefront home in the early 1990s and took classes to earn certification from MSU’s master gardener volunteer program a little more than a decade ago. She has built about six rain gardens in her yard which contain a lot of native plants, she said.
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Some people build rain gardens to prevent flooding issues, said Kaufman. When she started building rain gardens she said she lived right by a lake and parts of her yard were low lying.
“It helps the lake and my yard and I have beautiful plants,” she said.
“It may actually be cheaper than a regular garden because less watering is required.”
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