{"id":418,"date":"2021-10-04T19:51:57","date_gmt":"2021-10-04T19:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dimensionfx.net\/?p=418"},"modified":"2023-11-23T08:10:53","modified_gmt":"2023-11-23T08:10:53","slug":"raining-gardens-a-decoratively-powerful-approach-to-conservation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/dimensionfx.net\/index.php\/2021\/10\/04\/raining-gardens-a-decoratively-powerful-approach-to-conservation\/","title":{"rendered":"Raining Gardens: A Decoratively Powerful Approach to Conservation"},"content":{"rendered":"

For both wildlife and vegetation the privilege of being able to access water is one of the foremost struggles that follows them their entire lives. In Conservation practices, it is seen that a healthy ecosystem\/habitat will generally support wildlife, but the type of habitat depends on the availability of water. For example; <\/p>\n

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  1. An abundance of water = Ponds, Rivers, Oceans.<\/li>\n
  2. A large amount of water = Swamp, Marshlands, Bogs & Fens. <\/li>\n
  3. The presence of water monthly = Forests, Grasslands, Heathlands etc<\/li>\n
  4. Little-to-no water: Deserts, Savannah, and perhaps counter-intuitively, annually frozen regions. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So, you can have a vague understanding of how water has a role in shaping the local environment. Yet this is a simplified view, not taking into account soil water-retention, sunlight intensity, local & global climate patterns, local vegetation type, and so on and so forth. It’s tricky, but manageable for small sites! <\/p>\n

    Here’s a thought provoker<\/strong>: if you’re trying to promote wildlife & plantlife, how do you control the available water supplies in a habitats that span acres, miles, or even countries? <\/em><\/p>\n

    Well, as we in the UK have lost 90% of our wetland habitats in the last 100 years, our conservationists have gotten creative! Methods such as Natural Flood Management, Vegetation-Inducing Water Quality Improvement, Natural Rainwater Catchment, as well as Re-Introducing species to revert habitats are the heavyweights of this topic. <\/p>\n

    It’s great to know this, but how does this help you? Well your garden, for one, is a habitat that needs water right? But where does it get it from, do you water it occasionally or do you prefer to water for the rain to come? Either of these are valid options but both have the same flaw. How does wildlife gain access to water, as these water sources don’t stay around for long. Sure, maybe theres a nearby pond a half-mile away, but how will wildlife that cannot cross fencing, roads, or human territory reach them? Well, if you’re keen to do something about that to help support local wildlife that provides a drinkable water source yet doesn’t need you to skim off algae, feed fish, or refill, then Rain Gardens are an amazing garden-level equivalent to the conservation management techniques<\/strong> I just mentioned. <\/p>\n

    Rain Gardens are a style of gardening introduced to combat low water resources, heatwaves, reduced water tables, and negative impacts rainwater run-off. If you have any water-proof surfaces near your garden, as well as the right soil, you’re ready to go!<\/p>\n


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    What is a Rain Garden? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

    The end goal of all Rain Gardens is to create a system of whereby rainwater runs off man-made structures, such as rooftops, using self-made water-highways to deliver it to a certain portion of the garden. This part of the garden will be re-designed to allow it to become temporary<\/strong> bodies of water as it is not a water garden<\/em>. Nor is it a pond or wetland. In fact, a rain garden is dry most of the time, only retaining water during and following a rainfall. Because of this feature, rain gardens will drain within 12-48 hours<\/p>\n

    The overall aesthetic of your garden does not actually differ drastically, as you’ll see in the upcoming ‘How-to’. Depending on your choices, a ‘dimple’ of your own choosing will be created in your grassy patch, and it simply fills up with all the rainwater that is redirected it’s way. You will have the choice to introduce new plants that enjoy being semi-submerged sometimes, whilst your local groundwater will be refilled, your nearby vegetation healthier, the local wildlife will be visiting more often, and the many other benefits mentioned later on in this post. <\/p>\n

    That’s it, your own ephemeral wet grassland, a valuable hotspot of quality habitat! <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

    This is a project suitable for anyone with a well-draining soils<\/a> and a relatively flat piece of land. A moderately challenging project for the autumn or spring, depending on how you want to spin it. This is a water feature that projects a soul-filled atmosphere, as well as a feeling of depth to an otherwise static green-scape.<\/p>\n


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    Garden Requirements: <\/strong><\/h2>\n