Tag: Adobe Illustrator

Rain Garden Planted in the Nick of Time

A week ago Saturday, on May 20, I helped sort plants purchased through the Washtenaw County Water Resources Office by people who were putting together rain gardens—like me. The advantage of helping out was that I got to take my order home that day instead of the following one—one more day to plant!

I planted them Sunday. I had done a partial planting last fall, so the plants I picked up just about completed the garden, with the last pieces coming from transplants from other spots in the yard.

The Rain Garden

We had better start with a schematic. You cannot see from one end to the other due to the redbud, so this will keep you oriented.

Site plan showing rain garden layout in relation to front of house, sidewalk, and road.
The rain garden, as planted in 2016–2017. The rough brown lines represent exposed tree roots. There are three green circles with perhaps too-tiny numbers in them; from left to right, they are (1) Rosa setigera, (2) Clethra alnifolia, and (3) Cercis canadensis. Adobe Illustrator file updated May 27, 2017.

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Pondering My Rain Garden on a Rainy February Day

Our meteorologist predicted 55°F today. It’s been raining steadily since the middle of the night, but the snow has not all washed away; it’s 41° and mid-afternoon, so I think she got a little optimistic.

I have been in this house a very long time. Back in the early 90s, the floodplain crept onto a corner of my lot. The floodplain keeps moving. The boundary is now halfway up my very narrow front lawn, so when an online Master Rain Gardening class opened up through the Washtenaw County Extension office, I jumped at the chance.

This photo was taken in mid-August 2016. You can see the rain gutters pointing to the street at the house corners.

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