Rain Gardens in Native Plants Landscape Design

 

In looking at the attached photo, not many readers would realize that this is a rain garden.  My husband and I dug out this rain garden (which is basically a planned swale) around 2012. From the very beginning, we populated it with native species only, with a focus on ones that would grow naturally in a sunny, wet meadow in Kentucky and the surrounding region. Over the years, we've augmented the wildflower and shrub collection for more biodiversity,  (i.e., beautiful visual interest all season long, and to attract a larger number of pollinators.) 
In our book, "Let the Earth Breathe: Gardening with Native Plants", we show you more details with many photos about how we created all of our rain gardens in our 12+ years project to develop a native plants sanctuary at our home in Louisville, Kentucky. Here are a few points about the "why" of rain gardens in native plants home gardening: 

• Rain gardens hold rain water longer, allowing it to sink down into the water table instead of running down impermeable pavements, flooding public drainage systems. 
  
• As rain water percolates down through established native plants and roots, the plants help clean the water. 
• Rain water is better for the health of plant species than our tap water. 
• If the soil in rain gardens is amended with organic material from the beginning, the water drains down below the surface before mosquitos have time to breed. 
• All of our rain gardens collect rain water directly from our house roof drainages via pipes. An amazing amount of rain is collected from roofs. We have just chosen to channel it through our nature sanctuary via several inter-connected rain gardens.
  
  To learn more, please purchase our book. You can order signed copies HERE
  
  
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Let the Earth Breathe: Gardening With Native Plants

Anne Milligan and Stephen Brown have spent the last 12 years creating a Kentucky native plants, shrubs, and trees sanctuary in southeast Jefferson County, Kentucky. I, Anne Milligan, documented the journey from the very beginning via journal entries and photographs. Since we live in such a biodiverse area of the country, the native species have thrived to the extent that we had to figure out what to do with all of the extra seeds and plants, since our project is only a normal suburban lot. That is how we began the next leg of our journey, which is not only to share our produce, but also our process. "Let the Earth Breathe" is our narrative of growing with regionally native species, creating interesting, fluid, landscapes with native species, and having fun along the way. We have included lists, many photos, and ideas for new native gardeners in Kentucky and the lower Midwest region. All along the way, our first priority has always been the pollinators: Butterflies, bees, moths, birds, etc., who DEPEND on native species for their existence. And without pollinators, there is no life on our planet. To order the book, click here: Let the Earth Breathe book

Interactive Colors of Native Kentucky/Midwest Wildflower Blossoms

It is so enjoyable to see the intense "WOW" colors of individual native wildflower blossoms, but it is the interaction of certain colors that add spice and wonder to our gardens. Sometimes, these interactive colors happen on their own, but we can also design them intentionally, thus adding another level of pizzazz to a garden area. In this photo, for example, we see that the radiant violet purple of native Ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata) is even more intense as seen against the bright (complementary) color of Orange Coneflower. On a color wheel (which one can purchase at any art store or online), you can find a color, and its opposite (complementary) color and plant native wildflowers that bloom at the same time in those colors.  Another example is Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis). Its intense red blossoms stand out even against its own green foliage (green and red being opposites.) That's one reason why Cardinal Flower plants look so stunning when planted close together in large swaths. The greens and reds are amazingly intense and always draw the attention of Hummingbirds and humans!

For more information on using regionally native plants species in home garden design, you can now buy an accessible and fun book. It is the narrative of Anne Milligan and Stephen Brown's 12+ years native gardening project in southeast Jefferson County, Kentucky. Click on this link to purchase Let the Earth Breathe

Anne Milligan
Louisville, Kentucky
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