The Seed 3: Plant a Garden, Save a River

Rain gardens are quickly catching on as an effective and beautiful means of controlling rainwater runoff. In Minneapolis and St. Paul our current storm water management system rushes rainwater from rooftops, parking lots, and roads directly to the Mississippi river. This rapid inflow of rainwater warms up the river causing algae to grow so fast that it deprives other aquatic life of oxygen. Along the way to the river the rainwater also picks up and brings with it substances that are harmful to the rivers health such as motor oil, fertilizer, and road salt. Residents of the twin cities are finding out that by planting rain gardens they can help deal with this problem in their own back yards.

As the rain seeps slowly down the path of the plants roots in a rain garden it is filtered into underground aquifers. This natural system of filtering allows the water that passes through to be both cleaned of the toxic chemicals and cooled from the heat that it has picked up on it’s way to the garden. This clean cool water is then passed into lakes, rivers, and streams ready to sustain native aquatic animals and plants. Gardens that capture rainwater offer benefits far beyond improved water quality for the people who live near them. Perhaps equally important as the positive effect on aquatic life produced in rain gardens is the fact that when planted with native plants they become a stopping place for migrating songbirds and butterflies. These visitors bring with them an immeasurable natural and aesthetic value. When done correctly rain gardens can be a cheap and easy way of maintaining a lawn, which can add beauty and value to the property. Once a rain garden is established it won’t require any irrigation like so many gardens and lawns. Responsibly managing the water run off from any property will also minimize land erosion and structural degradation of buildings that can occur near water down spouts.

Simply put, rain gardens are a beautiful, cost effective, and environmentally responsible way to maintain a property.

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