Elemental Designs are keen enthusiasts of sustainable gardens, in particular rain gardens. These are simple yet innovative ways to collect, store and filtrate rain water in your garden, which can accommodate imaginative and aesthetically pleasing planting to form a colourful part of the garden.
What are Rain Gardens?
The concept is very simple, when it rains, water commonly flows into a storm drain and then directly into a stream or river. The aquatic organisms are not well adapted to cope with the contaminants such as salt, heavy metals, oil, antifreeze etc., which are commonly collected and carried in rain water when is flows across the surface of a road or pathway.
The aim of a rain garden is to take rain water from your roof, patio, path or driveway and diverts it through a landscape so that the water is collected, stored then eventually absorbed back into the soil and not lost down a drain. Using a combination of gravity and the natural ability of plant roots to absorb and breakdown contaminants means that rain gardens offer a very simple solution to manage, store and re-use rainfall.
Rain Gardens can be made up of all, or some of the following
- A green roof, where the final roof layer is composed of plants.
- A rain chain that connects roof gutters to a water collector such as a water butt
- A water butt can then be allowed to overflow into another water collector at a lower level, such as:-
A swale, or bio-swale which is a man-made depression in the land, backfilled with drainage material, soil and finally planted. Water collects at the base and is slowly re-absorbed back into the surrounding soil. - Or a water course or channel that leads to a pond.
Depending on the size of the area, all or parts of these aspects can be used and with the right plants, a sustainable, functionally and visually pleasing garden space can be achieved.
Why consider a rain garden for your outdoor space?
The UK is considered a temperate climate, but we have occasional heat waves and downpours, so water can be a potential problem, with either too much or too little. Existing drainage systems are designed to remove water runoff as quickly as possible, therefore denying the natural water table within the soil to be maintained in preparation for the drier months, or they cannot cope with the heavy rainfall which can lead to localised flooding. Rain gardens help to combat these problems.
The right choice of plants needs to account for these variations in the weather, so they are selected so that they can cope with extreme weathers for short periods of time. This means that with a wide choice of plants available, it is feasible to create a garden that looks good, is self-sustaining, provides a haven for wildlife and does not need extensive maintenance and watering.
Why Use Elemental Designs?
Like most things in life, rain gardens are not rocket science, they require a sensible, pragmatic approach together with good plant knowledge. At Elemental Designs we clearly understand these principals; we are passionate about them and firmly believe that a well-designed rain garden can hugely enhance your outdoor space. We would love to share our enthusiasm, so please contact us for more information.
Further Facts
For further information Nigel Dunnett at the University of Sheffield has spent many years researching this area and his work is the source of my inspiration. www.nigeldunnett.info
There is a general agreement green roofs can reduce annual rain water run off by 60 – 80%
Swales, (planted depressions used to capture rainwater), using a mixture of meadow like native grasses and flowering plants have shown a reduction of water flow of up to 41%, compared to a 27% reduction in swales that were just mown grass.
In the USA a number os states have active programmes for reducing rain water run off to limit water pollution in rivers.
West Michigan Environmental Action Council www.raingardens.org
Dakota County Soil & Water Conservation District www.dakotaswcd.org
Classic Design
Our aim is to design a garden that complements the architecture of your house and the surrounding landscape read more»
Contact Us
Contact us to arrange an initial meeting, we can show you examples of our work and discuss ideas for your garden contact us»
Contemporary Design
At Elemental Designs we understand your practical needs and design style creating a garden to suit your budget and individuality read more»