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Don’t bury the lawn

Remove all the lawn, don’t bury it like I did. That stuff is tough and will grow up through the soil. And lay the drain pipe first. I waited till the end to connect it, and realized that my outfall pipe (already installed) did not exactly line up with the downspout.

Steep enough slope

Be sure the slope leading to the garden is steep enough to effectively have the water run properly to the garden area.

Rocks add character

Rocks extending from the downspout add character. Mulching after the planting really helps to keep the weeds at bay šŸ™‚

Reuse sod for berms

I recommend reusing sod to construct berm and use large pieces of cardboard (Ikea dumpster dive) to edge and mulch sides.

Take the workshop!

Most important lesson learned, take the Rain Garden 101 class. I gained valuable information and know-how to build a rain garden. Watching my first rain garden at work inspired me to build 3 rain gardens in my yard. They are beautiful and they perform a valuable function in absorbing rain water runoff from the house and garage roofs.

Start with a plan

Start with a good plan. We took the rain garden class offered and studied magazine articles and searched the web for information for our plan.

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