NH: Gardening wiht the Rain

GO GREEN! Gardening with Rainwater ( digg erea the; den ( num Han usin, in tl the BY DEBBIE KANE ILLUSTRATION BY LENITA BOFINGER DAVID CEDARIIOLi\I, D RIIAj\) S TOWN ENGINEER, is passionate about rain gardens. On a stormy day-"the best time to see how a... More

GO GREEN! Gardening with Rainwater ( digg erea the; den ( num Han usin, in tl the BY DEBBIE KANE ILLUSTRATION BY LENITA BOFINGER DAVID CEDARIIOLi\I, D RIIAj\) S TOWN ENGINEER, is passionate about rain gardens. On a stormy day-"the best time to see how a rain garden works," he saysCedarholm enthusiastically entices a visitor into the elements to see a sixteen-footby-ten-foot, stone-filled patch of ornamental grasses, irises and day lilies adjacent to the Durham Public Works (DP\,v) building. Despite a howling wind and torrential rain, water isn t visibly pooling in the garden-which is how it s supposed to work, Cedarholm explains. "The water percolates down through the garden, and the overAow goes into a catch basin (in the parking lot)," he says. "People arc amazed at how it works. " With the right design, Mother Nature can help you reduceor even eliminatehow much you have to water your landscape plantings. 38 NEW HAMPSHIRE HOME I MARCH/APRil 2009 Less