Rain-scaping is a popular new trend, it is a landscaping technique where you use the land to redirect rainwater creating beautiful rain gardens, rain barrels, and rain chains. 

If you have a miserable saturated area in your garden that floods after heavy rain and your wondering what to do with the area to make it more interesting, rain-scaping could be the answer. So, wherever water flows, you can create your very own rain-scaping project. 

Benefits of Rain-scaping

There are many benefits to rain-scaping. One of the main benefits is that will help solve your drainage problems, whether that is controlling soil erosion or just wanting to make use of poorly drained areas, rain scaping could make your drainage woes disappear. 

Rain-scaping will increase the population of wildlife in your garden. You can create the perfect habitat for insects, butterflies, and birds, which will encourage them to visit your garden. Native plants and wildlife in the UK evolved together, so are dependent on each other for survival.

Having a rain-scape garden will help to stabilise your soil. Soil conservation will be noticed after the amount of soil lost to erosion is reduced. You will be helping the environment too as rain-scape gardens do not need to be watered, the native plants are hardy, living well in most conditions. Rain-scaping mean more plants, less need for watering, and less grass to mow. 

How to Rain-scape Your Garden

Rain-scaping is easy, you just need to choose the right area. If you have an area where you have a lot of run off when it rains heavy, it probably causes big puddles and soggy lawns, a rain garden will help you control the run off and utilise the area by creating something interesting and artistic, plus you’ll be doing your bit for the environment.

Gardening Know How has this advice, “Rain gardens are usually placed in low areas where water pools up or in the path of areas of high run off. A rain garden can be any size or shape you choose. They are usually built like bowls to cache the water, with the centre of the garden being lower than the margin. In the centre, rain garden plants that can tolerate periods of wet feet and have higher water needs are planted.”

Choose flowers, plants, shrubs and grasses that thrive in damp soil. Wet soil loving plants are Arum-lily, Sweetgum, White Dogwood, Panicled Hydrangea and Plantain Lilies. Add some colourful grasses like Midwinter Fire which has a mix of orange, red, and yellow stems to give variety and colour. Caltha Palustris, also known as Marsh Marigold, can cope in the wettest of conditions making it an ideal plant for rain-scaping. They produce beautiful yellow flowers with large heart shaped leaves. Astilbe are perfect perennials for soggy areas, the flowers look like feather dusters, producing colours of dark red, pink, and white. 

There are many other plant options, take your time researching the best ones to use, choosing the right water-loving plants will keep your rain-scape garden looking vibrant and lush all year round.