Think Spring, Think Gardening

Two increasingly popular gardening methods are green gardening and rain gardens. While benefiting the environment in several ways, these two types of gardens also yield healthy plants and vegetables and beautiful flowers.

Sometimes also referred to as organic gardening, green gardening saves soils and nearby water systems from the trauma of the chemicals and pesticides or fertilizers which are often used in traditional gardening. For some suggestions or tips, see our recommended reading list on green gardening.

A second kind of environmentally friendly garden is a rain garden. These gardens satisfy the dual purpose of growing pretty flowers and plants while also filtering potentially harmful runoff from getting into the watershed. One local rain garden is in Cross Plains at the Rosemary Garfoot Public Library, Wisconsin's first green library. For information on how to start your own rain garden, see our recommended reading list on rain gardens.

Photo credits: Top, Amy De Simone. Bottom, Cross Plains Public Library

Turfgrass irrigation system helps manage stormwater

MADISON - This summer, Doug Soldat is saving for a not-so-rainy day.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison soil scientist is banking rainwater, up to 8,000 gallons of it, enough to keep the lawn at UW-Madison's O.J. Noer Turfgrass Research and Education Facility lush through the driest weeks of summer.

Soldat and graduate student Brad DeBels installed two 4,000-gallon tanks, like rain barrels on steroids, that collect rainwater from the roof of the turfgrass facility's main building on Madison's far west side. Water from those tanks is used to irrigate nearby turf via subsurface drip irrigation lines.

Soldat views the setup as a prototype for a sustainable turfgrass irrigation system that does not rely on wells, water mains, storm drains or the electrical grid.

"In a three-month period we collected 19,000 gallons off the roof at the Noer Center and sent it all to the turf - 3,150 square feet of lawn," he says. "We were able to use and infiltrate all of the rain that that fell on the Noer Center's 7,000-square-foot rooftop."

To read entire article, go to UW-Madison News.

For information on another rainwater-saving technique, visit Wisconsin's Water Library's Rain Gardens reading list. Rain gardens capture water in a shallow depression planted with vegetation that filters the water as it slowly seeps into the ground. This creates cleaner groundwater and protects our lakes and streams.

Professor, student start initiative to encourage rain gardens

James T. Spartz, a graduate student in the life sciences communication department, knows exactly where most of the excess rainwater from Madison’s Arbor Hills neighborhood flows: It ends up in three ponds in the UW–Madison Arboretum, where it deposits harmful amounts of sediment and organic nutrients.

“Stormwater runoff is a perpetual problem for [the Arboretum],” says Spartz. “It poses an ongoing threat to the unique ecology of [the area’s] waterways, and its flora and fauna.”

In an effort to help ameliorate this situation, Spartz and life sciences communication professor Bret Shaw are rolling out a community-based initiative this spring designed to encourage Arbor Hills residents to build rain gardens in their yards. If enough Arbor Hills residents are willing to install these landscape features — which collect and hold rainwater, allowing it to soak into the soil close to where it fell — the neighborhood could significantly reduce the volume of stormwater runoff reaching the Arboretum’s beleaguered ponds. Already, five homeowners have signed on.

To read the entire article, go to UW-Madison News.

Rain Barrels and Rain Gardens

Don't let all this rain go to waste! Rain barrels and rain gardens are just two ways Wisconsin's Water Library recommends beating the rain shower blues (and prevent flooding!).

Rain barrels are water tanks which are used to collect and store rain water runoff, typically from rooftops via rain gutters. This prevents excess rain water flooding storm sewers and water mains. Also, the collected water can be used to water plants and gardens during the drier, summer months.

If you live in Dane County and are interested in purchasing a rain barrel, Sustain Dane distributes RainReserve® Rain Barrels for a fee. Sustain Dane is a non-profit organization committed to creating communities that deeply enjoy, care for and are sustained by their unique environment. You can save money by purchasing a RainReserve® Rain Barrel at Habitat Restore's Earth Day Event on Saturday April 18th and receive $15.00 off single system or $20.00 off tandem system.

Rain gardens capture water in a shallow depression planted with vegetation that filters the water as it slowly seeps into the ground. This creates cleaner groundwater and protects our lakes and streams. To learn how to start a rain garden, check out Wisconsin's Water Library's new rain gardens reading list.

To request books from our reading list:
UW-Madison faculty, student or staff request books from MadCat.
Wisconsin residents request books by filling out a book request form.