Create a rain garden

Create a Rain Garden

Knowing our good old British summers, you could be reading this and thinking, ‘if it rains any more, I’ll scream!’ Or the other extreme, of course, is longing for a shower to break the heatwave. Either way, water is always significant to our experience in the garden, and rain gardens are a great way to celebrate it.

A rain garden, which is less permanent than a pond, is simply an area that collects storm water. If you are not using a downpipe for a water butt, then it could instead be used to feed an area that thrives with plants that can cope with a range of wet conditions. Depending on the season, a rain garden can be dry most of the time, but when it does rain, it will typically hold water for a while and then drain within 12 to 48 hours. There are lots of beautiful, colourful plants that can cope with this soaking and draining effect, including these ones:

· Primrose (Primula vulgaris)

· Granny's Bonnet (Aquilegia vulgaris)

· Yellow flag iris (Iris pseudocorus)

· Daylily (Hemerocalis)

· Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)

· Penstemon (Penstemon digitalis)

· Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)

· Coneflower (Echinacea pupurea)

· Bistort (Persicaria bistorta)

If you have a smaller space and are keen to attract birds and insects into the garden, then a shallow container that fills with rain is ideal. This can be made from all sorts of upcycled items, such as an old stone trough or metal bath, and as long as the material is solid or semi-permeable, the water can then soak away or run off when it gets full. You can make different levels by including some pebbles or gravel, which will help any wildlife visitors that may come to drink. Even add some moss to the edge to allow bees to land.

These little places can become mesmerising spots and time can fly past as you watch the wildlife come and go, so position your rain catcher near somewhere you can sit comfortably and is preferably dry. Then when the heavens do open you can down tools, relax and watch the rain garden fill up, creating a wonderful natural concert as the raindrops hit the different levels and surfaces.