Install a Rain Garden

• About this Project
• Do-It-Yourself
• Incentives

A Beautiful Idea for Protecting our Streams

Rain gardens are a beautiful way to use your landscape to soak up and filter excess rainwater and keep it from entering storm drains or going directly into streams. Additionally, when you use native plants in your rain garden, you help create a diverse habitat with food sources for birds and beneficial insects likes honeybees and butterflies.

Did you know that a rain garden allows about 30% more water to soak into the ground than a conventional lawn, reducing stream pollution from fertilizers, pet waste, pesticides and other pollutants?

A rain garden is a garden with a shallow depression that collects and drains stormwater. They typically are planted with native plants with deep roots that loosen the soil, so stormwater can soak into the ground more easily. In addition to making your landscape look more attractive, they can address flooding and erosion problems in your yard and neighborhood.

Not all sites are suitable for a rain garden and a conservation landscape may be a more appropriate project. If you have poorly drained soils, steep slopes, or space constraints, you should consider conservation landscaping. You’ll need to evaluate how well your soil drains, as well as the flow of water over your property. The County’s RainScapes program developed a manual for how to install a rain garden.  For other resource guides and tools, click here.

Take a Class:

Each year, the County’s RainScapes Program hosts a rain garden and conservation landscaping training class at Brookside Gardens.   Held 2-3 times per year, the class is an opportunity to learn how to use landscaping techniques and native plants to absorb and reduce stormwater.  RainScapes staff will show you how to evaluate your site, design and construct a conservation or rain garden landscape, and explain how you can qualify for RainScapes Reward rebate.

Several jurisdictions, including Montgomery County, offer rebates and financial incentives for installing RainScapes. The RainScapes rebate can potentially be thousands of dollars in savings.

• Montgomery County RainScapes Program
• City of Gaithersburg RainScapes Program
• City of Rockville RainScapes Program

After you install a RainScape, you may be eligible for a credit of up to 80% off your annual County property tax bill.  Learn more.