The Benefits of a Rain Garden

When the month of October arrives many of us think of what we call the Halloween floods. In 2013 and again in 2015 rain fell in such quantity that Cypress Creek left its banks and caused considerable damage. Even those who don’t live along the creek saw flooding and erosion from stormwater runoff.

Many of us began to think of ways to protect our homes and yards. At our house we had a newly planted rain garden. The garden has had several years to grow, and now it is ready to prevent the undermining of our driveway that we saw in 2015. A rain garden is a depression (natural or manmade) in the landscape that collects and stores stormwater runoff until it can infiltrate the soil. When we moved into our home we noticed a natural depression making a perfect site for such a garden. At about the same time a rain garden was created just across the street in Augusta Park.

The Augusta Park rain garden is simply a slight depression that collects runoff from the street and golf course. Woodcreek received a LCRA/PEC grant to purchase appropriate plants to add to the natives that were already present. The area is not mowed. A few of us who live nearby cast seeds from our yards into the garden hoping for a diversity of species. My rain garden was bare, so I selected appropriate plants.

Rain gardens do more than help prevent flooding. They also allow recharge to our vital aquifers, protect waterways from pollutants such as fertilizers and pesticides, enhance the beauty of the landscape, and provide habitat for birds, butterflies and beneficial insects. The yellow, orange, purple and blue blooms of summer have faded from my rain garden, but the native grass I planted keeps it interesting. Come see at Augusta Park or my home at 89 Augusta Drive.

Becky Denton,

Hays County

Master Naturalists