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What Plants Will Be In Our RAIN Gardens?
What type of plants feature in our RAIN Garden packs?
Firstly, for the wet base, we have chosen moisture-loving herbaceous perennials, such as Yellow Flag Iris, Soft Rush, Pendulous Sedge, Cardinal Flower, and Calla Lily.
Around the wet base we have then selected shrubs that tolerate wet as well as dry soils, such as Elderberry, Midwinter Fire, Smooth Hydrangea and Rugosa Rose. Mix in some perennials as well, such as Bugleweed, Clustered Bellflower, Lucifer Montbretia, and Geranium Rozanne.
Finally, around the edge of the RAIN Garden, we have selected drought-tolerant grasses such as Korean Feather Reed Grass, Tufted Hairgrass, and Chinese Silver Grass.
In exchange for the plants, compost and downpipes, we will also give each RAIN Garden participant a fabulous numbered plaque to display, to recognise the garden’s contribution to community-led flood resilience. All we ask is that you send us a photo of your garden once you’ve planted it, so we can share everyone’s amazing work.
At the end of our project, we will then calculate the collective area of RAIN Gardens and the water retention benefits achieved through the scheme.
If you live in Wootton Brook or Harpers Brook, you can register for a free RAIN Garden pack: https://rainnorthants.co.uk/rain-gardens/
We have approx 100 packs available on a first-come, first-served basis, so please be quick!
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The RAIN Project is funded by Defra as part of the £200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programmes, which is managed by the Environment Agency. The programmes will drive innovation in flood and coastal resilience and adaptation to a changing climate.
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