Did you know that watering your lawn and garden can consume up to 40% of your water usage every month? Collecting rainwater in barrels will not only dramatically decrease your water usage, but you will be supplying your plants with a naturally enriched water. Collect the water today and find uses for it for weeks to come, for free.

How exactly does a rain barrel work? Simply put, a rain water barrel collects and stores rainwater run off from roof tops that can be used at a later time for watering your lawn or garden. Under ordinary conditions, rainwater that hits your roof runs either through your gutter system or falls directly off of your roof and becomes storm water runoff. Often times rain water never even sees a lawn or garden, it is often diverted directly into a storm drain and taken away. Why not take advantage of the rainwater instead of letting it go?

Installing a rain barrel on your property is one way of helping conserve water in your area, and is especially vital if you live in an area that may be seeing drought like conditions or is not known for have large amounts of rainfall each year. Rain barrels are ugly you say! With their popularity increasing, manufacturers are making rainwater barrels in literally all shapes, colors and sizes to fit any surrounding without sticking our like a sore thumb. You can buy rain barrels made of multiple materials also. From wooden rain barrels to plastic rain barrels and even metal ones. The plumbing is easy and can be done without major tools in most cases. There are rain barrel accessories and rain barrel kits that make for a professional set up as well.

Designer rain barrells are not cheap and therefor, not everyone can afford to buy one. There are many ways to make your own rain barrel and there are many sites dedicated to the diy rain barrel crowd. Doing things yourself can definitely save you some money and will work efficiently if done correctly.

Using rainwater wisely and tying your rain barrels in with your rain gardens can conserve so much water every year. Healthy lawns require large amounts of water and by taking the time to plan ahead with your landscapes you can really cut back on the amount of water you use each month to keep a healthy lawn and garden. Running multiple rain barrels in succession with each other can allow one day of rain to last your garden a month or more.

Get involved with your yard, garden and community. When you find a system that works well for conserving and saving water, share your findings with your neighbors and your community. You may be shocked to find out how many people are willing to follow in your foot steps to help conserve water and mother earth. It usually takes one to get the ball rolling, and the rest will follow suit.

Can you take the time to invest in either making your own rain water barrels or purchase one or more? If so please do your part to conserve our drinking and potable water with the use of water barrels.

If you are working towards landscaping your backyard, you may want to start with a focal point. Many homeowners strive to have a nice deck as a focal point in their back yards. Decks can be expensive and a lot of hard work. There are many deck designs available throughout the web for little or no cost. Building a deck with a gutter system that will route and catch rain water in rain barrels can lower your monthly lawn watering bill significantly as well. The average home uses up to 40% of its water usage to water their lawn and landscaping.

After you have designed your deck layout, choosing a grass and surrounding plants that require minimal water to thrive. It is also important to choose a grass that will thrive according to your climate and region, also it is important to take into consideration the amount of shade or sun your grass will see throughout a typical day.

When planning out your flower garden, it is important to use soil additives like perlite and vermiculite that help the soil retain water for extended periods of time. As the plants need water, it is released from the perlite or vermiculite for their consumption.

Of course your main goal in rainwater harvesting is to conserve water through harvesting rain water. However, having a sprinkler system as a back up is always a smart idea. Drouts can happen any where and if your yard needs water, an efficient layout of sprinkler heads can keep your yard healthy on minimal water.  These tips mentioned are a basic guideline and keep be expanded on in many directions.

You can go so far as to install retaining ponds that feed an irrigation system for a natural looking rainwater harvesting system. Rain barrels do a great job of harnessing water, they can also be eye sores and in the way. Get creative! Be unique with your landscapes, even trying ideas that have not been tried previously.

The shift to more environmentally sound landscaping means more people are looking for ways to give back to the earth for the benefit of everyone.  My own inspiration for adapting rain gardens into my landscaping practice comes from my deep belief that gardens can be more than beautiful; they can be useful for people and animals by providing much needed wildlife habitat and rainwater for gardens.

Simply put, rainwater harvesting by way of rain gardens are concave depressions covered with plants that store water for direct landscape use.  It is a radically different concept from the current landscaping trend of getting rain water off our property as fast as possible by putting it into concrete and metal channels.

Building Your Rain Garden (General rules, research rain gardens and rainwater collection before digging)

Size:

* An easy general rule for the area of the rain garden is equal to 1/3rd the size of area that rain water will run off from and into the rain garden.
* Consider roof, lawn, and patio areas to determine the size of the rain garden area size, if rain water runs off these areas and is directed to the rain garden, it needs to be included.
* Add all these areas together and divide by 1/3rd; that is how many square feet your rain garden area should be when completed.
* Several rain gardens can be connected together to handle large rain events.
* Such holding areas can be chained together through spillways.  You can create holding areas by digging out depressions and keeping the resulting soil as a berm or by using berms, moats, or soil terracing to make flat areas hold water.

Depth:

* Make a depression 12 to 18 inches deep throughout the area of the rain garden.
* Make the bottom level and flat, being careful not to compress the bottom soil making it hard as rock.
* Slope will determine how deep to make your rain garden, the more slope you have, the deeper your rain garden will need to be.

Soils:

* The soil in your rain garden should be a mix that will allow fast infiltration of water and good root growth, such as a mixture of 40% expanded shale, 30% compost and 30% topsoil.
* Allow for a 3-inch layer of shredded hardwood mulch.
* A useful example of layering from top to bottom:

3” of mulch

6” mix of native soil, expanded shale and compost mixed thoroughly together

3” of stone aggregate such as gravel

* Type of soil and slope determine how deep and how large the rain garden should be.
* A bottom drain may be needed in highly compacted clay soil situations if too much rain will constantly overwhelm the rain garden.
* You should, however, be aware that digging may expose poorer quality subsoils unsuitable for landscape plants.

Plants:

* Native species
* Berry and nectar producers
* Combine shrubs, wild flowers and grasses
* The types and numbers of plants in your landscape, along with their growth stages and sizes, determine the amount of water your plants need to be healthy.
* Because rainfall varies throughout Texas, different plants have become adapted to conditions in different regions of the state.
* Deep-rooted plants native to your region are the best choices for your landscape because their water requirements are usually met by normal rainfall amounts.
* Plant combinations for our soil and climate (some non-natives are okay).

Spring blooming:

·        Yarrow with bergamot (full sun)

·        Blue False Indigo with yellow columbine (shade)

Summer blooming:

·        Boneset (Eupatorium colestinum) with purple perilla (an herb)

·        Mexican Milkweed with daylilies (deep rooted sun plants)

Fall blooming:

·        Goldenrod with purple asters

·        Blazing Star with Blue Mistflower

Winter interest:

·        Native grasses will have attractive seed heads, left untrimmed until late winter so the birds will have a food source

Benefits of Sustainable Landscaping and reducing the size of your lawn:

* Attract Wildlife
* Hardier lawns and gardens (native plants are drought resistant)
* Save water and money on water bills (the average lawn consumes 10,000 gallons of water annually)
* Enhance passive recreational opportunities (bird watching, garden photography)
* Reduce pollution from chemical pesticides and fertilizers which goes along way in supporting environmental law
* Reduce air and noise pollution from lawn equipment