River friendly gardening

Rain Gardens 


Everyone can make a difference to our rivers just by changing the way they manage rain in their gardens.
 

We have developed the Rain Garden UK training course to help gardeners or people interested in setting up commuity projects to build effective rain gardens and rain water planters.

More course details are on our Rain Garden UK website

 

Why build a rain garden?

As climate changes we are seeing more cloudburst type rainfall, with heavy deluges that overwhelm our drainage network, causing local surface water flooding and sewage spills into our rivers. These rainstorms are often followed by long dry periods, so it's important that we look for ways to slow the flow of rainwater, catch what we need to water our gardens and create space for water to soak into the ground slowly instead of rushing off down drains to either the river or the sewage treatment works. This is known as Sustainable Drainage or SuDS. If you'd like to find out more about the benefits of rain gardens click
here or come on one of our workshops to learn more.


Three easy ways  to manage water in your garden

Water butts

The first and simplest thing to do is install a water butt. The average roof collects enough rainfall to fill 300 water butts with rain every year. Some water companies and councils offer water butts at a discount or even free, so check offers in your area.


To create a rain garden there are a few basic rules to follow, our Rain Garden UK training course will guide you through in simple steps so that you are empowered to build your own with confidence.

Storm water planters

Storm water planters are also known as rain water or downspout planters. They catch water, usually from the roof, slow it down and filter it before releasing it slowly either to the drain or into the ground. You can connect your gutter to the planter via a downpipe or a rain chain. Scroll down and click on the graphic to see how we worked with designer Wendy Allen to create storm water planters out of agricultural troughs.




Rain Gardens

Rain gardens are depressions in the ground which provide a safe space for water to soak into the ground during and after rainfall.  They can be a beautiful addtion to a garden and are simple to construct and plant. The gardens only stay wet for a few hours, so they are different to bog gardens and need to be planted with plants which can adapt to wet and dry conditions.