Rain Gardens are shallow basins planted with native plants that catch storm water before it flows into
storm sewers during a rain storm. They allow rain water to soak into the ground (rather than flowing over roads,
roofs, driveways and lawns directly into the river), and they filter pollutants that would otherwise run
directly into the rivers. If numerous rain gardens were installed in Worthington, we could prevent
storm water from overflowing the capacity of our storm sewers.
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On September 6, 2008 a demonstration rain garden was installed at the City of Worthington
Public Service Complex at 380 Highland Ave. We encourage you to visit the rain garden!
The purpose of this
garden is to educate the public about rain gardens and encourage their installation
throughout Worthington - at your home, your place of business, your church, your school...
Franklin Soil & Water provided expertise for this garden and would be happy to advise you on your Worthington rain garden as well.
Visit their website at www.franklinswcd.org
for extensive information about rain gardens.
This rain garden is 300 square feet and collects rain water from Worthington-Galena Rd., Highland Ave.,
and the Worthington Service
Complex. The plants in the
garden are all native to
Ohio, and some were locally
grown and donated. Part of
the soil used in this garden
is recycled from local
mulched playground areas.
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This demonstration garden is a cooperative effort of:
What are rain gardens?
Rain gardens are attractive landscaped areas in low spots. They
catch runoff from rooftops, driveways,
sidewalks, roads, and other impervious
surfaces. Rain gardens are planted with deep
rooted, water and drought tolerant plants. They
can be installed on residential lots (urban and
rural), commercial lots, and community areas.
How do they work?
Rain gardens allow rainwater and snowmelt
to seep naturally into the ground. They
function to slow and reduce storm water
runoff. The deep roots allow for infiltration of
water. Pollutants carried from runoff are
collected in the rain garden and are filtered
through the root system and soil.
Benefits:
- Reduce amount of storm water
- Improve water quality of streams
- Low-cost conservation practice
- Provide wildlife habitat
- Simple installation
- Aesthetically pleasing landscape feature
- National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) compliant—postconstruction
practice
More Information
For more information on rain gardens, visit
Central Ohio Raingardens at www.centralohioraingardens.org
and Franklin Soil & Water Conservation District at www.franklinswcd.org.
1. Spray-painted outline of garden:
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2. Cutting sod around the garden:
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3. Removing sod:
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4. Removing sod with bob cat:
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5. Loosening soil with sod cutter:
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6. Shoveling loose soil into bob cat:
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7. Four truck loads of soil were removed:
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8. Donated plants from Don Humphrey's garden:
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10. Plants laid out in garden:
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11. Boy scouts get instructions:
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11. Planting:
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12. Planting:
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13. Watering after planting complete:
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12. Garden with signs:
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Please print and distribute this flyer about the demonstration rain garden to help inspire other rain gardens in Worthington.
If you do not have a copy of Adobe Acrobat, click here
to download a free copy to use to read PDF files.
Copyright © 2010 Sustainable Worthington. All Rights Reserved.
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