Construction Tips
• Create a shallow swale or run drain tile or
downspout extenders from your downspouts to
the rain garden to ensure the stormwater is
captured.
• In order to aid in proper infiltration, you may
need to remove layers of clay soil and replace with
layers of light soils such as sand, peat, or compost.
• Creating a garden that has a bowl or sunken shape
allows it to hold and infiltrate more water during
storm events.
• A properly constructed rain garden should drain
completely in a short amount of time and does not
contribute to mosquito breeding. In fact, rain garden
plants often attract and create habitat for beneficial
pollinators and mosquito-eating insects like
dragonflies.
• Seedlings can be planted from mid-May to midSeptember. Summer plantings may require frequent
watering.
Maintenance Tips
• Your rain garden will require maintenance, most of
which will be in the first two years, with minimal
maintenance once plants have matured.
• Ensure that you rain garden receives at least one inch
of water per week for the first 2 months. Use a simple
soil probe to check the level of moisture in your soil
and find out of watering is needed.
• Leaving plant tags or purchasing a plant ID book may
help in determining which plants are undesirable.
• Dead plant material can be removed in the spring to
allow more room for new growth. Allowing the years
growth to stand over winter adds visual interest and
increases wildlife habitat.
Building a Rain Garden?
Don’t forget to CALL BEFORE YOU DIG!
In MN contact One Call Gopher State at,
(651) 454-0002
In ND contact North Dakota One Call at,
811 or at http://www.ndonecall.com/
For questions or technical assistance
resources for creating your own rain
garden or managing stormwater around
your home or land contact your local
Conservation District.
Cass County Soil Conservation District
1665 43rd Street South, Ste. 103
Fargo, ND 58103
(701) 282-2157 ext. 3
cassscd.org
Rain Gardens
Capturing the Rain of the Plains
Rain gardens rely on deep rooted plants to help
infiltrate storm water and reduce erosion. Many of
the native plants used in rain gardens are also well
adapted to handle both regular moisture found
in our soils as well as short periods of inundation
and drought.
Mistflower
Eupatorium coelestinum
Height: 1’-3’ Flower: Purple Bloom: Jul-Oct
Habitat: Sand, Loam, Clay; Full to Partial Sun;
Medium to Moist Soils.
What is a Rain Garden?
A rain garden is a low-maintenance garden that
looks like a shallow depression and uses rain water
runoff from impervious surfaces (driveways, roofs,
sidewalks, and other surfaces that don’t absorb
water) as its main water and nutrient source.
Ox Eye Sunflower
Heliopsis helianthoides
Height: 3’-6’ Flower: Yellow Bloom: Jun-Sep
Habitat: Sand, Loam, Clay; Full Sun; Dry,
Medium or Moist Soils.
Great Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
Height: 1’-4’ Flower: Blue Bloom: Jul-Sep
Habitat: Sand, Loam, Clay; Full to Partial Sun;
Medium to Moist Soils.
Marsh Phlox
Phlox glaberrima
Height: 2’-4’ Flower: Purple Bloom: Jun-Jul
Habitat: Sand, Loam, Clay; Full to Partial Sun;
Medium to Moist Soils.
Ohio Goldenrod
Solidago ohioensis
Height: 3’-4’ Flower: Yellow Bloom: Aug-Sep
Habitat: Sand, Loam, Clay; Full Sun: Medium
to Moist Soils.
Red Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
Height: 3’-5’ Flower: Red Bloom: Jun-Jul
Habitat: Sand, Loam, Clay; Full Sun;
Moist to Wet Soils.
Palm Sedge
Carex muskingumensis
Height: 3’-3’ Color: Golden Bloom: May-Jun
Habitat: Sand, Loam, Clay; Full to Partial Sun;
Medium to Moist Soils.
Fox Sedge
Carex vulpinoidea
Height: 1’-3’ Color: Golden Bloom: May-Jun
Habitat: Sand, Loam, Clay; Full Sun;
Moist to Wet Soils.
Why a Rain Garden?
Beyond being low-maintenance, rain gardens
have many important benefits that impact our
community.
• Rain gardens absorb and filter stormwater
runoff, reducing the quantity of pollutants in
our waterways.
• Rain gardens reduce the potential for flooding
by decreasing the volume of water entering
storm drains.
• Rain gardens help homeowners decrease their
dependence on city or well water for landscaping
by providing free, un-clorinated water.
• Rain gardens reduce the potential for soil
erosion by reducing the amount of surface
water.
• Stormwater pouring off hot roofs, pavement,
and other surfaces is temporarily captured in
the amended soil of rain gardens, cooled, and
allowed to percolate into the subsoil
replenishing precious groundwater aquifers.
Rain gardens vary in size and shape and
should be planned considering drainage patterns,
size and quantity of surrounding impervious
surfaces, and soil conditions. When well planned
and maintained, rain gardens can be a simple,
beautiful, and effective residential landscaping
element.
Tips for Planning
• Take a look at your property to help you find a
potential rain garden location.
On a rainy day where does the runoff flow?
Is the water pooling in a certain area or runoff point?
Where is the water from your downspout going?
• It is helpful to calculate the area of impervious
surfaces that drain to each runoff point.
Where is the runoff coming from?
How much water is flowing to that runoff point?
• Plan your rain garden about 10% of the size of
the area it receives runoff from.
• Design your rain garden at least 10-15’ from any
basement or foundation.
• Plan for a controlled overflow for large storm
events.