Rain gardens are depressed landscaped areas planted with wild flowers and other native vegetation that allows rainwater runoff from impervious urban areas like roofs, driveways, and walkways to be soaked up or absorbed. After a storm, rain garden can keep a few inches of water for a couple of hours and slowly filters it into the ground rather than letting it run off the drainage. Rain gardens can get 30% more water soak into the ground than conventional lawn garden.

Here are the five benefits of having rain garden.

1. It helps protect communities from flooding and drainage problems. During a storm huge amount of water normally run off from the roof of houses and infrastructure together with dried leaves and other garbage to the drainage. Rain garden can be a part of stormwater reduction to minimize combined sewer overflows.

2. By increasing the amount of water filtered into the ground, rain gardens contribute to groundwater recharge. It is supposed to be a natural process, but due to development and building construction this process is interrupted.

3. Rain garden protects streams and lakes from stormwater carrying pollutants like lawn fertilizers, pesticides, oil and other fluids that leak from vehicles, and other harmful substances that can kill or drive off aquatic animals.

4. Rain gardens are nice landscaping features that add beauty to the yard and neighborhood. It can also save you money because the plants do not need fertilizers which makes your yard a healthier place for kids. It also reduces the amount of lawn you have to maintain.

5. Rain gardens provide wildlife habitat for butterflies, birds, and other insects. These insects help drive away mosquitoes too. The water in a rain garden is not stagnant so it is also not going to be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Although a rain garden may seem like a small thing, but collectively it has significant benefits to the whole community. A rain garden in your backyard makes you a part of the solution to environment problems and promotes awareness to the problems that stormwater runoff brings.