Building a Rain Garden to Reduce
Stormwater Runoff
Native Plantings for Rain Gardens
A rain garden is an inexpensive, bowl-shaped garden that, through the actions of spongy living soils and properly chosen plants, slows, filters, and absorbs runoff from roofs or pavement keeping it from becoming harmful storm water pollution. Rain gardens are a smart and proven way of using beautiful landscaping to: clean our lakes and waterways, and protect our precious natural habitats.
Resources for Rain Gardens
The manual below was developed by the Wisconsin Standards Oversight Council and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. It is a 32-page, full color version of Rain Gardens - A Guide for Homeowners and Landscapers.
| raingardenmanual_dnr2018_full_color.pdf |
The document below is a 19-page, easily printable, partially color version of the same Rain Gardens - A Guide for Homeowners and Landscapers manual. However, the rain garden plant recommendations are in table format, include the Common Name, Scientific Name, Soil Type, Light Preference, Bloom Time and Height, but do not include color photos of each individual plant.
| raingardenmanualprint_dnr2018.pdf |