Madison's Everyday Engineering

Madison's Everyday Engineering


Rain, Rain Go in my Garden

April 20, 2020

Rain gardens, they’re green, beautiful and help our infrastructure, but if you’ve never built one, have one or even know of how to make it happen in your yard, it can be hard to understand the benefits. A rain garden is a garden of native shrubs, perennials, and flowers planted in a small depression, which, sometimes, is built on a natural slope. A rain garden is also a great option for stormwater management as it temporarily holds and soaks in rainwater runoff that flows from roofs, driveways, patios or lawns. In this episode, you’ll find not only ways to help the City accomplish it’s 1,000 rain garden goal, but you’ll learn step-by-step instruction on how to build a rain garden, and how to build a rain garden on a budget. City of Madison Engineering Division Public Information Officer, Hannah Mohelnitzky hosts Engineer Phil Gaebler and Greenway Vegetation Coordinator Maddie Dumas to explain what plants to select, how to measure and build a rain garden, in addition, to the most common mistakes to avoid.