Ah, now here’s an idea to warm (or perhaps wet) an ecologically-minded gardener’s heart: Rain Gardens.
Rain gardens, I guess, aren’t exactly new concepts. But they are making ever more sense.
What are they? Areas where you direct the runoff from your non-permeable surfaces (like your roof and asphalt driveway), essentially. The idea is to stop potentially toxic runoff from racing into your local storm drain system. Instead, you provide a place where it can pool temporarily and flow back into the underground aquifer. So it’s an environmental win-win.
What the gardener gets is a rainy season wet area that, with the right planting ought not to become a mosquito breeding ground. Instead an area that should support native meadow plants (which are used to wet and dry seasons).
If the idea intrigues you, here’s the place to go for more: www.native-raingarden.com.
EarthQuaker 