Rainwater Gardens
Overview
In 1996, Maplewood installed it’s first rain garden to help manage stormwater. Today the city has over 450 home rain gardens and over 30 rain gardens on city land.
A rain garden is a shallow depression that collects rain water and allows it to infiltrate. It’s planted with plants that can tolerate a wide range of soil moisture.
Maplewood’s Rain Garden Program:
- Rain gardens on Maplewood street reconstruction projects. When people talk about Maplewood rain gardens, they are usually talking about the gardens that were created as part of street reconstruction projects. Since 1996, the city has installed over 450 boulevard raingardens and over 30 city rain gardens as part of street reconstruction projects.
- Installing a rain garden on your own. Maplewood encourages residents that are not on street reconstruction projects to consider installing a rain garden on their own. Most yards have room for a rain garden that can collect roof runoff. Some residents are also able to collect driveway runoff or runoff from a slope. Click below for information on creating your own rain garden, or information about classes.
- Rain gardens for developments and businesses. Maplewood encourages developers and businesses to consider rain gardens when determining how best to infiltrate runoff from their site. Several developers and businesses have created beautiful rain gardens in our community. Some favorites are:
- Legacy Village Rain Gardens – median along Legacy Parkway (west of Kennard)
- Legacy Village Rain Garden – along trail in front of townhomes on Woodlynn (west of Kennard)
- Somerhill apartments – at southwest corner of Harvester and Ferndale
Rain Garden Designs
From formal to wild, from shrubs to perennials, there are many options for rain garden designs and plants. You can view information below on rain garden designs.
Favorite Places to see Maplewood Rain Gardens
- Home rain gardens – The most concentrated area of rain gardens is the Gladstone neighborhood south of Frost Avenue, west of Hazelwood
- Large gardens on public lands
- Robinhood Park
- Wakefield Park
- City Hall
- Birmingham Garden - on Birmingham, 1-1/2 blocks south of Frost
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