Tag Archive for: Rain Garden
Rain Capture Sanctuary
Priorities: Rainwater Catchment – Outdoor Seating – Native Plantings
Challenges: Expansive Grass Lawn
Solutions: Channel Rainwater to Cistern and Rain Garden – Install Patio – Terrace and Grade Area
This cistern, rain garden, and patio project functioned as an example of mutual inspiration. Maas Verde’s nature-centric client helped us reframe our own thinking about rain gardens. And in turn, we helped her vision become a lush, rain-collecting, native planted reality.
A small shady spot below a tall pecan tree overlooked a gently sloping turfgrass lawn. It was a natural seating area, and the install would revolve around it.
The plan incorporated a 20’ x 10’ rain garden swale with berms, native karst limestone boulders, a 1,000-gallon galvanized cistern, and 317 native plants representing 17 species. This and a honed limestone patio would partially replace the Zoysia grass lawn. Advantageously, we were able to repurpose some materials from the site: ¼” steel edging, and part of a limestone block wall encircling the tree.
Maas Verde built an 8’ x 8’ CMU (concrete masonry unit) pad for the cistern to stand on. To match the block walls to the house foundation, the crew finished the surfaces with stucco. A 5-foot pony wall helps divide it from the side yard. And a galvanized pipe trellis help screen and cool the tank, once native coral honeysuckle plantings establish.
The rainwater catchment system works via collection and cascade. First, piping funnels rainwater from the roof into the tank. When the tank overflows, it disperses into the rain garden below. Finally, a gentle channel cut into the garden and adjacent limestone wall allows any water still moving downhill into the lawn.
The system handles a surprising capacity of water. Together, the cistern and garden can hold 1,980 gallons. That’s enough to fill about 45 bathtubs to the brim. In a 1” rain event, the client’s roof would collect 840 gallons of rainwater.
Maas Verde’s system only needs to capture a fraction of that to sustain its hearty native plantings. The outdoor seating component adds novel functionality to the space.
“Most people don’t think of rain gardens as landscapes that are particularly geared toward humans. They’re considered more like ecologically-focused elements than practical spaces for people to hang out,” Maas Verde project manager John Harris explained. “But this design proved, any rain garden can be both at the same time.”
Anderson Mill
Project Description:
This project in Northwest Austin employed an ecological solution to stormwater runoff pooling on the front sidewalk, as well as refreshing an aged landscape. A very large Arizona ash tree had died and had been removed, leaving the remaining landscape bare and sunbaked. Some invasive nandina and Ligustrum shrubs had dominated what was left. The clients preferred a native Hill Country look – lush flowering perennials amidst limestone outcrops – and had shared photos that inspired them via Pinterest.
This customer had three main objectives:
1) Come up with a solution to the pooling issue.
2) Update a few points in the landscape that had become overgrown and unsightly
3) Remove turf grass to reduce mowing.
Resolution:
To solve the pooling issue, we excavated two rain garden swales on either side of the front sidewalk. Water from the front downspouts was redirected into the swales, too. This allowed rainwater capture from the front sidewalk as well as the roof. The extra moisture held by the soil in those areas will benefit the plants around them. Masonry was used not only for function but for aesthetics as well. Hill Country limestone lines the pools, and various stepping-stone paths were placed in the gardens to aid in access. A substantial amount of the turf grass was removed, and beds created and mulched.
Project details:
By the numbers:
330 sq. ft.: rain garden swale area.
1,905 sq. ft.: St. Augustine turf grass removed.
1,270 gallons: approximate rain garden capacity.
990 gallons: rain captured from impervious surfaces in 1” rain event.
640: new native plants installed.
29: native plant species used.
Rain Garden Fix for Drainage, Access and Inviting Backyard
Frontyard
Priorities: Resolve Unwanted Pooling – Increase Room For Foot Traffic
Challenges: Manage Stormwater Ecologically
Solutions: Regrade Stone Work – Install Rain Garden
This residential project constitutes a great example of an ecological solution to a common problem.
The homeowner was struggling with misgraded drainage. In any rain event, water would backflow onto the driveway and pool in foot trafficked areas. The adjacent lawn formed a moderate berm, offering no drainage.
The client needed the drainage problem solved, and wanted more room for walking on the driveway sidewalk and front patio — especially for their aging parents.
Maas Verde first removed the concrete sidewalk and regraded the area toward a focal point in the middle of the yard. We then laid a new, wider sidewalk and extended the patio with masonry using sawed limestone slabs.
Finally, we removed the grass berm and replaced it with a rain garden planted with native grasses and other species. In concept, the plantings capture natural runoff from the stonework, and soil berms help maintain the structure.
By the Numbers
200 sq. ft.: rain garden swale area.
650 sq. ft.: St. Augustine turfgrass removed.
990 gallons: approximate rain garden capacity.
540 gallons: rain captured from impervious surfaces in 1” rain event.
317: new native plants installed.
12: native plant species used.
18-Month Update!
This rain garden is now a full-fledged native habitat. Using only rainwater and Stage 2 restrictive irrigation (one day per week), this homeowner has fostered a sanctuary for hummingbirds, bumble bees, and even a curious fox (caught on Nest Cam)!
Backyard
Priorities: Beautify the backyard and add a living space.
Design: Alternative to a high maintenance lawn area.
Features: Cream limestone slabs, stacked pancake boulders, Desert Willow, wildflower meadow, and succulent garden.
The client wanted to have an inviting, low maintenance landscape suitable for gatherings with a walking path throughout various gardens.
Maas Verde removed Saint Augustine turfgrass and replaced it with a gravel path and several garden sanctuaries.
Cut limestone was added to cover and extend an existing concrete porch to create an outdoor grill and living area.
2,700 sq. ft: Saint Augustine turfgrass removed.
2″ Thick cut limestone added to extend porch.
26: native species planted.
