Rain Garden

Yesterday I received word that I had received a grant from the Lake Michigan Rain Garden Initiative (LMRGI) for a rain garden in part of my front yard. I had made the application for the grant, plants at ½ price, when I saw one of my neighbors plant one last summer. I had not heard a word and forgotten about it till yesterday. Now I need to, in the next few weeks, secure the permission of my neighbor who owns part of my front yard; convince my wife that it will look as good as, if not better than, the grass now there; order and pay for the plants. Personally I am excited about it, although it will mean more learning. The most difficult part will be picking the plants. Hopefully I can get some advice from someone about this task soon.

Last week at our DMZ garden gathering we talked about what seeds we want to purchase for our DMZ gardens this year] So I also need to do that soon. Ordering seeds takes some care and knowledge. Hopefully I can work on that. Next week I will spend a few days taking care of my grandchildren up north. They will be in school during the day so maybe, if I have enough background material by that time, I can work on the plan as well as order my seeds for the DMZ.

With the rain garden and the DMZ gardens the time is now to purchase the seeds, spring is the time to plant the seeds, early summer is the time to plant the plants and the rest of the summer is the time to watch the beauty of the garden grow and to harvest the food. It is a four-season activity.

Rain Gardens are way to soak up rainwater from roofs, concrete, driveway or yard, water that would normally drain in the sewage system and use it to grow the garden. You can learn more about rain gardens at the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District (MMSD) site on rain gardens. MMSD is the same place where you can purchase rain barrels for the garden.

There has been an ongoing theme in my postings the last few weeks, if not longer, turning waste, in this case wasted rainwater, into something valuable and good. The rainwater rather than tax our overburdened sewage system will not be soaked into the ground to bring new life to the earth

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