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Rain Gardens in the Pacific Northwest
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FREE Rain Garden Installations
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 Rain
gardens work like a native forest by capturing and infiltrating stormwater from rooftops,
driveways, and other hard surfaces. Rain gardens — reduce flooding by absorbing water from impervious
surfaces; filter oil, grease and toxic materials before they can pollute streams, lakes and bays; help to recharge
the aquifer by increasing the quantity of water that soaks into the ground; provide beneficial wildlife habitat.
A typical rain garden profile is shown below.
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How to build a rain garden
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- determine how much impervious surface you have and how much of that water you want to manage
- decide where on the property you'd like to build a rain garden
- do a percolation test to make sure the soils can soak up the water
- decide how big to make the rain garden
- construct it!
- plant it!
- maintain it!
Use the online resources (listed below) or contact Stewardships Partners for more information to get your rain garden project going.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do rain gardens breed mosquitoes?
No. Because rain gardens are shallow and are only built on soils with sufficient drainage, they are designed to
dry out before mosquitoes can reproduce.
Will my rain garden have standing water?
Rain gardens are designed to infiltrate water in about a day. If it rains several days in a row,
it is possible that your rain garden may have standing water until the rain stops and the water has time to soak in.
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Northwest Rain Garden Web Resources
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Other Resources
Rain Gardens: Managing water sustainably in the garden and designed
landscape;
by Nigel Dunnett and Andy Clayden, 2007, Timber Press; ISBN978-0-88192-826-6
Soil doesn't drain well?
Alternatives to Rain Gardens
Bog gardens are areas where the soil is waterlogged either naturally or artificially, creating a suitable
environment for growing plants that thrive in moist soil. The International Carnivorous Plant Society has an excellent
collection of how and why resources for NW Pacific bog gardens at
their Web site.
Construct a downspout NW Pacific bog garden - Natural Life Magazine has a very informative article on the design,
construction and planting of a downspout NW Pacific bog garden. download article,
(July/August 2007)
Bio swales are landscape elements designed to remove silt and pollution from surface runoff water. Read more on the
seattle.gov Web site.
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