Jason and I are wanting to move our renovating outside this season since most of the inside of our house is done. We live in a city that has some serious flooding issues and discovered a type of landscaping called "rain gardening", which is a shallow, constructed depression that is planted with deep-rooted native plants & grasses that slows down the rush of water from hard surfaces, holds the water for a short period of time and allows it to naturally infiltrate into the ground. A rain garden can be thought of as a personal water quality system because it filters the runoff from your roof and lawn, recharges the groundwater and conserves municipal water resources by reducing the need for irrigation.
I've been researching water collection containers, such as 'rain barrels', and came across a discreet and multifunctional system called a 'rain bench' by Second Rain.
It is connected to the downspout drain and collects water that can be used to water the garden! The kits cost about $70 per 60 gallons of storage. Jason and I are thinking about building some raised beds in the backyard with these benches built into the bases with a soaker hose hooked up to the water supply below.
I emailed the folks at 'Second Rain' about my raised bed idea and here is the message I received from them this morning:
"Thanks for the request, and this is exactly the kind of innovation that what we are excited about developing and sharing with others.
It is feasible to build a raised bed right on top of the rain bench. In fact, we have also been finalizing the details for a bench cap that would direct all water that falls on it through a filter and into the upper overflow fitting of the bench right below it.
What this means is, not only can you build the raised bed on top of your bench, but it can be set up so that any excess water that you use to irrigate this bed would flow back into the rain bench for reuse, increasing your water conservation further.
Cheers,
Scott Gear"
It is feasible to build a raised bed right on top of the rain bench. In fact, we have also been finalizing the details for a bench cap that would direct all water that falls on it through a filter and into the upper overflow fitting of the bench right below it.
What this means is, not only can you build the raised bed on top of your bench, but it can be set up so that any excess water that you use to irrigate this bed would flow back into the rain bench for reuse, increasing your water conservation further.
Cheers,
Scott Gear"
I love it when I have an idea that might actually work!
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