The Beauty of Rain Gardens

Remember the saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”? This is truly the case for rain gardens. As we move into the fall season, the Land Conservation Department staff have been hearing comments regarding the tall grasses, dried flower heads, and dense growth in the rain gardens built by the Department as demonstration projects. Most rain gardens do not include those elements that are more culturally accepted as beautiful, like lush green lawns, short-growing, manicured vegetation throughout the growing season, clean lines, and a more maintained appearance. Instead rain gardens are comprised of dense stands of native, deep-rooted plants designed to promote water infiltration. As a result, people may think of rain gardens as cluttered, unkempt, and unmanaged.

In reality the beauty in rain gardens is twofold. First the blooming native flowers and grasses represent much of the original beauty that covered the state before extensive human settlement. Many of the native perennial plants used in rain gardens are no longer common outside of prairie reserves or arboretums.

The second and more important factor in the beauty of rain gardens is their ability to protect and improve our water resources. As we develop more of our land for buildings, roads, parking lots, roofs and other impermeable areas, we are having a very negative impact on our rivers and streams. Rainwater falling on impermeable surfaces is heated up, contaminated with chemicals, sediment, and other residues found on the impermeable surface, diverted quickly to a storm sewer, and then routed to the nearest water body. The receiving waters become warmed, polluted, and quickly flood out of their banks.

By installing rain gardens we are creating shallow depressions that act like natural sponges, collecting the polluted runoff water from impermeable surfaces, and slowly filtering it into the ground where it is cooled, filtered, and slowly allowed to move underground toward the river or stream. This results in more normal stream temperatures, less polluted streams, more consistent flow levels, and reduced flooding. They are one of the most frequently cited and promising strategies for managing stormwater responsibly, especially in an urban setting. Besides the benefits to water quality and fish habitat, rain gardens provide food and shelter for birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects, such as mosquito-devouring dragonflies! Rain gardens do not hold water long enough for mosquitoes to reproduce.

If you would like to see some rain gardens in Baraboo, stop by the First United Methodist Church , the Baraboo Public Library, or East Elementary School . All of these rain gardens provide opportunities to discuss stormwater and nonpoint-source pollution and to view wildlife.

To learn more about rain gardens, contact the Sauk County Land Conservation Department at 355-3245. The Sauk County website can be found at http://www.co.sauk.wi.us/