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will
typically range from 150 to 400 square feet.
Sometimes
creating a rain garden is as simple as directing rain to an
absorbent swale in your yard and perhaps putting in a few plants.
If you have no convenient place to direct your roof runoff, or you
want a formal garden design, then it's time to get down and dirty.
Most soils will need to be dug up and loosened to a depth of two
feet, or replaced with rain garden soil mix mentioned
above, not only to prepare for planting the garden but so rain can
soak in.
Define
the Borders! First, define the borders and shape of your
garden at the location you have selected. Outline and mark the
area to be dug. If the area is lawn, you will have to remove the
turf. If you are not replacing your soil, double digging to a
depth of two feet is recommended. Remove the soil from the hole
and pile it to the side; then dig and loosen the earth in a new
hole, and pile it loosely into the first hole. This is the time to
mix compost into the soil, if you are doing soil improvements.
Continue until the whole garden is prepared. To be certain that
your rain garden will function properly, simply replace the soil
with the recommended rain
garden soil mix. This will give your new plants a
great start, and the soil will soak up the rain. If your site soil
is clay, total soil replacement is probably in order.
Grading
the pond area.
Grade the surface of your prepared rain garden bed in such a way
that the water entering it can spread out over a large flat area
and soak into the soil. This may involve removing a lot of soil.
The depth of the dip should be about six inches. The depth can be
graduated from the edges of the garden to the middle. When your
pond area is ready and the soil is nice and loose, it's time to
plant. The sooner the plants are in, the faster your rain garden
will get established. It is best to use native plants in your rain
garden whenever possible. Most rain garden designs are a
combination of native species and of non-native plants (for
example, daylilies do very well in rain gardens). Timing is
extremely important in obtaining
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plants
for your rain garden or bio-retention project. Growers try to
anticipate needs for native plants and seeds, but it is not
economically practical for them to grow plants they do not
have a ready market for. Many of them grow plants to order, but it
can take several years to grow plant material or collect seed for
a specific project. This is complicated if you are seeking plants
or seeds from a specific region. Keep this in mind when you
are searching for particular plants or large quantities of plants.
Designing the garden for easy maintenance is part of your planning
process, so keep the following guidelines in mind:
Put
the right plant in the right place. Choose plants or a
design suited to the existing conditions of the site. For example;
if a garden is in deep shade then plants that require sun are not
going to thrive. Some plants are adaptable to certain soils, and
some are not. Choose with the needs of the plants in mind.
If a
plant is not happy, move it. Rain gardens also have
three zones; very wet, wet-to-dry, and dry areas at the edges. If a plant is not doing well in one location of the garden,
it's a good idea to move it.
If
you use a design with tall plants, think about how this will
affect the view. Some prairie plants can grow ten feet
tall. This could be a good thing, or not.
Mulch
makes things easier. Plan to mulch
your rain garden, which will keep it moist, protect your plants,
discourage weeds, and make weeds easy to remove.
Design
on a grid,
which can be transferred to your garden site. Lay out the grid
with string or markings. Then place the plants, in their pots, at
the location on the grid where they are to be planted. Plants must
be removed from their pots before planting, and don't pull them
out by the stems, as you may damage the plant. Instead, loosen the
root ball, then slide the plant gently out of the pot. Break the
root ball up slightly, and place the plant in the soil at the
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same
level it was growing in the pot. Once the plants are in, give them
a good watering to get them settled into their new home. Once the
plants are in, the mulch is applied. Be sure the crowns of the
plants are free of mulch. If there is a specific spot where rain
is flowing into your garden, you will have to break up the flow
with a few strategically placed rocks. Otherwise the force of the
rain entering the garden will cause erosion.
These rocks can be part of your attractive design.
Sit back and enjoy your new rain garden.
Municipal News
Trash pickup schedule for September 3rd.
Monday’s regular trash will be picked up along with
Tuesday’s regular pickup on Tuesday September 4th.
There will be no second pickup on Tuesday,
September 4th.
Recycling…………Starting
in Sept. the township Public Works Dept. will be picking up our
recyclables in the township. This will be a significant cost
savings and provide better service to the residents. Your
recycling schedule will remain the same; the only difference will
be that we are going to a single stream type system that will
allow you to put your newspapers out to be picked up on the same
day as the recyclables. We will continue to pick the papers up per
the calendar until the end of the year when the newspapers will be
added to the recycle schedule on the 2008 calendar. Any changes to
the schedule due to holidays will be announced and posted on our
access channel as well as published in the township newsletter and
local newspapers. –Chairman of the Public Works Committee
– Gary Robinson
Meeting and Special Events
August
2, 2007 (Thursday)
6:30pm
Aston
Lions Club Dinner Meeting
St. James Episcopal
Concord
Road
August
6, 2007
(Monday) 6:30pm
Public
Works Committee Meeting
Aston
Township Municipal Building
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