Verdant Design

So what do you do with a rain barrel in the winter?  We do get a good amount of our yearly precipitation from Autumn through Spring.  So rain collection and storage is still important.  The simplist thing to do is to put it on a slow drip.  That way the water in the barrel will be released over time after the rain event has subsided.  The view from the window was of seven Robins coming by for a drink.  So the rain barrels are good for more than just storage.

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Verdant Design has a separate blog for sustainable garden design called Verdant Thumb.  It shows the ongoing life and changes of our 3-year-old rain garden, sustainable practices, favorite plants, and situations we have encountered. It is more of a gardening perspective for those who would like ideas for a yard. We hope it is a help for you.

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The view from the office window of the rain garden has changed yet again. The drama of the red Cardinal Flower has given way to the seed capules for new plants next year. The rain barrel is also more apparent since the Black Eyed Susan plants were cut back. Summer is turning into Autumn and soon the plants will all be prepared for Winter.

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The Cardinal Flower — Lobelia cardinalis is in full bloom. Unfortunately, the hummingbird that was flying around didn’t want its photo taken. I would estimate that this is about 70 plants of Cardinal Flower and it has a dramatic effect. Typically it blooms a few flowers on the stalk at a time from the end of July through September, so planting it in a mass is a great way to to get a larger color effect. This is the view out my window, what’s your view?

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The view from the window is a rainy one today. The cardinal flower plants are just entering their prime with the younger plants not even starting to bloom. The plants like being wet, but in soils that do drain. These are located in a portion of the side yard rain garden. More on that later.

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