What is a Rain Garden?

A monarch butterfly enjoying our rain garden at Bucher Park.

A rain garden is a bowl shaped garden designed to collect several inches of water during a storm, providing time for infiltration into the ground and absorption by native plants - two natural ways of filtering out pollutants!

Rain Garden Benefits

Reduces stormwater runoff and flooding
Filters pollutants
Recharges groundwater resources
Low-maintenance landscaping
Attracts birds, butterflies, and other wildlife
Increases beneficial insects
Decreases mosquitoes
Aesthetically pleasing

How to make a rain garden

A rain garden slows and reduces the runoff that flows from your property while also providing a beautiful, wildlife friendly, landscape feature! In most yards, a rain garden can be installed by following these steps:

Choose and area in your yard that gets water from your downspout or driveway runoff. Make sure your garden is at least 10 feet away from your home and be sure it is on a gentle slope.
Do a percolation test to see how quickly water will be absorbed. Dig a 6” - 12” hole at the center of your garden and fill it with water. If there is still water in the hole after 24 hours you will need to add soil amendments to help with infiltration.
Dig a 4” - 8” flat bottomed bowl in a shape and size of your choice. Aim for a garden that is about 20% the size of the roof, patio or pavement area draining into it.
Loosen bottom soil up to 12” and mix in amendments - compost and sand mixed with topsoil.
Select native plants based on light and moisture. Choose water loving plants for the deepest part of the garden.
Use natural (dye-free) mulch to avoid weed growth.
Water plants as needed in the first growing season. Once established, your garden will not need watering, but make sure to monitor it and remove any weeds.

Rain Gardens Installed by the Conservancy

These projects were installed with the help of volunteers.
The Conservancy maintains them with the help of our Native Plant Volunteers.

Dragonfly Farm

In the spring and fall of 2023, the Conservancy installed 2 rain gardens at Dragonfly Farm in Lower Salford Township. This property was recently acquired by the Conservancy and saw the edition of two greenhouses, tree plantings and native garden installations in 2023 including 2 rain gardens funded by private donors.

Harleysville Community Park

In the fall of 2023, the Conservancy worked with Lower Salford Township to install a rain garden within Harleysville Community Park. The project involved digging down to shape the garden area and remove the turf grass and adding riprap to the outfall area. Once the township completed the prep work, we planted 1,000 native perennials with the help of volunteers. This project was funded by North Penn Water with in-kind services provided by the Township.

Stony Creek Park

In the fall of 2022, the Conservancy worked with Lansdale Borough to install a rain garden within Stony Creek Park. The installation process included digging down 7 ft, installing 350 aquabloxs, and then covering with gravel and soil. Once the prep work was complete, we planted 7,000 native perennials with the help of volunteers. This project was funded by North Penn Water with in-kind services provided by the Borough.

Lenape Park

In the spring of 2022, the Conservancy worked with Skippack Township and North Penn Water to install a rain garden in the newly formed Lenape Park. With the help of career study students, this garden saw the addition of 300 native perennials to help prevent runoff from entering the East Branch of the Perkiomen Creek. The garden was funded by North Penn Water.

Douglass Park

In the fall of 2021, the Conservancy worked with Douglass Township to install a rain garden in Douglass Park. This garden saw the addition of 3,000 native perennials which aid in the infiltration of the stormwater entering the basin from the surrounding area. Douglass Township donated their time and equipment to prep the garden and the project was funded by the Conservancy’s MS4 grant.

Cuddy Park

In October 2020, the Conservancy worked with Lower Frederick Township to install a rain garden in Cuddy Park. The rain garden saw the addition of over 1,000 native perennials which capture runoff flowing from Cuddy Park and the surrounding area. Lower Frederick Township donated time, staff, and equipment to excavate and shape the garden. The project was funded through the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy’s 2020 MS4 Program Grant.

White’s Road Park

In the fall of 2019, through a partnership with Lansdale Borough and North Penn Water Authority, the Conservancy installed 500 native plants in a rain garden in Lansdale Borough’s White’s Road Park. The garden captures stormwater runoff from busy White’s Road, adjacent housing, and the park’s parking lot. Lansdale Borough donated stuff time and equipment to excavate and shape the garden. Aquablock, stormwater containment systems, were also installed below the rain garden to increase infiltration and the volume of stormwater the garden can manage. The project was funded through the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy’s 2019 MS4 Program Grant.

Perkiomen Trail Rain Garden

In the summer of 2019, through a partnership with Schwenksville Borough, we installed two rain gardens along the Perkiomen Trail. These rain gardens are designed to capture stormwater runoff from Main Street as well as Snoozy’s Cafe’s parking lot which is located directly in front of the gardens. Prior to the planting, the gardens were excavated and shaped. With the help of volunteers, native shrubs and perennials were planted to complete the gardens. This project was funded by a MontCo 2040 grant.

Hunter’s Lane, Telford

In the fall of 2018, we installed 5,000 native plants into a constructed rain garden in a neighborhood in Telford Borough. The Conservancy partnered with the Borough to design and build the rain garden. Telford donated staff time and equipment to dig out and shape the garden. With the help of volunteers we were able to plant native perennials and shrubs to transform the basin into a functional rain garden designed to reduce runoff from nearby ball fields and adjacent homes. This project was funded through the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy’s 2018 MS4 Program Grant.

Bucher Park

In the fall of 2017, we installed 7,000 native plants into a constructed rain garden at Bucher Park in Lower Salford Township. Prior to the planting, PWC worked with the township to design and construct the garden, turning a traditional stormwater basin into a beautiful garden. With help from employees from Oehlert Brothers and Key Bank, as well as general volunteers, we were able to shape the garden and install the native plants. This project was funded through our 2017 MS4 grant program.

Schwenksville Rain Garden

In the Spring of 2017, we installed 3,000 native plants at an existing rain garden in Schwenksville’s Meadow Park. Prior to the planting, the garden had become overgrown and contained several invasive species. With help from career study students from Perkiomen Valley High School, we weeded the rain garden, added some rip-rap along the bottom and planted native species grown in our greenhouse.

Plant a Rain Garden or Native Plants!

Want to plant a rain garden or native plants in your yard? Check out our Native Plant List to get some ideas about what native plant species would work best for your property. Need to purchase native plants? Join us for our annual Native Plant Sale held each May!