Although rain gardens (and native planting in general) require far less attention and maintenance than annuals and other high maintenance flowering plantings, they still need some seasonal maintenance.
The three phases of maintenance are:
After initial planting watering
End of growing season clean-up
Beginning of next season preparation
It is possible to have a healthy, vibrant rain garden with minimal effort and some thoughtful care.
In this rain garden's first full year of growth the only maintenance it received was initial watering from a sprinkler and rainwater via the directed downspout and driveway on the left.
Once the garden has been installed it's important to care for it in the most basic ways during the first 2 weeks to 2 months.
The plants are small and don’t have strong, developed roots to hold them firmly in the ground during a heavy rain.
Nor will the roots allow the plant to search for water in the soil.
You will need to watch the plants over time to make sure they don’t wilt and die in the hot sun or get washed out in a heavy rain.
This course assumes you have planted your garden in the spring or the summer which is the optimal time to plant. Doing this will give your garden up to 6 months of warm and often wet growing time. It will also give you a chance to have a fairly hearty garden by late fall and into winter.
