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80
Boston Neck Road, North Kingstown,
RI 02852
Demonstration
Rain Garden
A Beautiful Way to Protect Narragansett
Bay and Replenish Your Water Supply. View our brochure about
the garden (click here for print version.)
The garden that adorns the North Kingstown
Town Hall's front lawn provides more than a pleasing array
of ornamental shrubs and plants. It protects the environment
and serves as a demonstration rain garden. A rain garden
is a natural or dug shallow depression designed to capture
and soak up stormwater runoff from your roof or other impervious
areas around your home like driveways, walkways, and even
compacted lawn areas. In addition to adding beauty to your
home landscape, rain gardens reduce stormwater runoff from
your property and replenish groundwater.
July 27, 2006
July 27, 2006
January 30, 2006
December 2005, photo courtesy of URI Master
Gardener, Evelyn Quinn
Fall 2005 photo updates:
Winterberry, photo taken October 7, 2005.
Installation of garden sign, October 7, 2005.
October 28, 2005
July 19, 2005
Donor recognition
The garden was made possible through generous donations by
local businesses. Most notably, David Renzi, owner of Out
in Front Horticulture and a URI Master Gardener, provided
assistance with the planning and design of the garden. David
donated his services and crew to install the garden with
assistance from additional URI Master Gardener volunteers.
Special thanks to the following local businesses, organizations
and individuals:
David Renzi and crew, Out in Front Horticulture
Town of North Kingstown
Holly Ridge Nursery
Little Tree Farm and Gardens
Morningstar Nurseries
Rose Shack
Schartner Farms
Taylor Rental Center
The Farmer’s Daughter
Wickford Lumber Co
Wildwood Nurseries
URI Master Gardener volunteers installed and will monitor
and maintain the garden for the next two years:
David Renzi, Valerie Harvey, Dori Gerhardt, Joy Gerstenblatt,
Evelyn Quinn, and Hilary Sowa
Special thanks
to Michael E. Dietz, Department of Natural Resources Management
and
Engineering, University of Connecticut for technical review
and assistance.
How the garden works
Stormwater runoff from one of the Town Hall’s roof
gutter downspouts (southwest corner) is directed to the rain
garden through an underground plastic pipe. The garden was
hand dug to form a depression with the excavated soil being
used to make a berm around the low side of the garden. This
creates a uniform depression that can temporarily hold runoff
until it soaks into the ground. Perennial shrubs and herbaceous
plants, specially selected for their ability to tolerate
temporary pooling of water as well as dry periods, were planted
and will aid in soaking up the runoff. The garden may temporarily
pool water for about 4 to 6 hours after a rain event.
Rain Gardens are designed to temporarily pool and
soak up runoff water
Water was flushed through the
pipe to test the connections before back-filling. Water is
run long enough to cause pooling
for observation. May 2, 2005.
Click here for details on
planning, design and installation:
Why the garden was installed
Prior to the rain garden installation, the runoff from
the Town Hall’s
southwest corner downspout spilled onto Reynolds Street through an existing
underground pipe and into a storm drain, eventually making its way to a storm
drain
and
nearby Narragansett Bay. The garden reduces runoff and potential water pollution
and
also replenishes
valuable groundwater resources. These are important benefits to a community
such as North Kingstown that has 31 miles of coastline,
an abundance of fresh water
resources, and relies solely on groundwater resources for its drinking water
supply.
It is important to understand that while
this rain garden certainly helps to reduce some of the roof
runoff from the Town Hall it does not handle all of the runoff
that is generated from the remaining roof area, parking lots
or even some lawn areas on the property. However, when each
resident takes similar steps to reduce stormwater runoff
and increase groundwater recharge, the cumulative benefits
to the community and watershed can make a big difference.
The North Kingstown Town Hall is widely
visible and open to public access, making it an ideal spot
for a demonstration that inspires residents to take similar
steps on their property. We encourage residents to observe
the
garden regularly for ideas and to monitor its performance.
The rain garden should not pool water
for more than 6 hours after a rain event due to both plant
and mosquito concerns. Soils with slow drainage or compaction
problems can result in a longer pooling period.
If you have areas in your yard that are already wet or
poorly
drained,
this is
not
a
good
location
for a rain garden.
At approximately 10’ by 16’ (160 square feet)
and six inches deep, this garden was sized to handle the
first
one inch of runoff from the roof gutter downspout and surrounding
lawn area that drains naturally into the garden. The first
one inch of runoff typically contains the greatest amount
of
pollutants.
The dimensions 10’ by 16’ allow for an attractive
crescent shape design.
Click here for details on planning, design and installation:
May 24, 2005 -- the garden experiences minimal to no pooling
during the first few rain events.
Rain
Garden Plants
The rain garden contains
mostly native plants that can tolerate both temporary
pooling and dry periods. The plants were selected based on
a combination
of aesthetic beauty, wildlife value, and the need for
low maintenance. In addition, a wide variety
of plants is being used in the garden to monitor their performance.
Container plants or plants with a well-established
root system are important when starting a rain garden
to guard against soil erosion and plant wash-out.
The rain garden currently contains the
following plants:
Wild Columbine, Aquilegia
canadensis
Sweet Pepperbush 'hummingbird', Clethra alnifolia
Red Twig Dogwood 'Ivory Halo', Cornus sericea
Inkberry 'shamrock', Ilex glabra
Winterberry Holly, Ilex verticillata
Highbush Blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum
Cinnamon Fern, Osmunda cinnamomea trial basis
Compost was mixed into the natural soil upon planting and spread over the
entire garden. Mulch was applied to conserve soil moisture, reduce weeds,
and protect against soil erosion. The plants will need periodic watering,
especially during dry spells, but are otherwise low maintenance plants
that usually do not require added fertilizer, pesticides and water. Periodic
weeding,
mulching, plant thinning, and pruning will also be needed.
Many of these plants can
be found in the URI Cooperative Extension GreenShare Sustainable
Tree and Shrub Manual, which is available on-line
at
http://www.pse.uri.edu/maynard_susplants/html_spl2000/index.htm or
call (401) 874-2900 to purchase a copy.
For
a more comprehensive tree, shrub and herbaceous plant list,
visit our rain garden fact sheet page, click
here.
The orange flowers are wild
columbine in bloom, May 17, 2005.
The back edge of the garden contains red twig dogwood, the
top of the berm contains Inkberry (evergreen) and Highbush
Blueberry, May 2, 2005.
The plants in the front and bottom of the garden
include Sweet Pepperbush and Winterberry. Cinnamon fern was
transplated from another site on a trial basis and may not
be able to tolerate
prolonged dry spells.
May 24, 2005.
June 17, 2005.
June 30, 2005
Plants at top of berm, front of picture are Joe-Pye Weed,
planted June 2005. Beyond at bottom of garden you can see
the sweet fern. Photo taken June 30, 2005. The Joe-Pye
Weed was replaced in May 2006 with additional wild columbine
for aesthetic reasons.
July 19, 2005
Click
here for details on planning, design and installation:
Field stone
Field stone was placed beneath the
pipe outlet and extends into the garden a few feet to slow
the runoff
down
and protect against
soil erosion. Crushed stone can also be used for this purpose. May
2, 2005.
Additional stones were placed in the garden for
design interest. The garden will be monitored during
and after storm events for signs of erosion or overflow.
The pipe contains an end cap with many small holes that allow
the water to flow and prevent debris and wildlife
access.
May 17, 2005.
Click
here for details on planning, design and installation:
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