If you have water issues on your property you may want to consider planting a Rain Garden.

 You’re probably wondering what is that?  A rain garden is a garden comprised of plants that like wet soil and will use more than the normal amount of ground water.  A well-designed rain garden will keep excess ground water in one place while the plants suck up the water. A rain garden should help overall to reduce standing water and muddy areas in your yard.

 There are a few results that come with this:

•  The muddy areas in your yard will be dryer than before.

• You have plants that won’t die from issues normally bothering plants such as root rot.

• These plants help prevent erosion from the water.

• Most rain garden plants can also survive some periods of drought.

There are herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees that can help you out.  Here a a short list but there are so many more.

• Herbaceous Plants: Joe Pye Weed, Horsetail, Ligularia, Marsh Marigold, Lily, Blue Flag Iris, Cardinal Flower, Trumpet Vine, Lily of the Valley, Sweet Woodruff, Ferns and many Ornamental Grasses

• Shrubs: Black Chokeberry, Winterberry Holly, Inkberry Holly, Pussywillow, Clethra, Red-Twig Dogwood, Bottlebrush Buckeye, Sugarshack Buttonbush, Rose of Sharon, Beautyberry, Forsythia

• Trees: Willow, Catalpa, Swamp Oak, Red Maple, Pawpaw, River Birch, Persimmon, Hornbeam, Magnolia

 To set up a rain garden, choose your location.  Look for a place where water accumulates or runs off during heavy rain.  The soil needs to be very porous so dig deep – at least a foot – and mix in an equal part of sand to the existing soil.  It should also be rich so mix in some compost and topsoil too if needed. Remember that sand doesn’t provide nutrients to the plants so the 50% of the ground that is dirt needs to be very fertile.

 If there’s normally nowhere for the water to run off, you want to contain it around your water-loving plantings.  Grade the ground to accomplish this. Keep in mind that if you’ve created a pond, you either need to regrade, add more plants or add more sand – possibly to a larger area.

 You may discover some new varieties of plants that you hadn’t considered before.

 For a more extensive list of plants, please visit https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/plants-for-damp-or-wet-areas/