Photo Galleries
Rain Garden Woodman Museum Dover 2014
This rain garden installed at the Woodman Museum in Dover was part of the Soak Up the Rain Great Bay project.
The back of the Woodman Museum before the rain garden installation.
This downspout that had been directing rain the Cocheco River via a catch basin on Summer Street was turned and buried to direct water into the rain garden.
The shape of the garden is planned out with stakes and tape. On the far right corner, an overflow outlet is planned.
Normally, SOAK projects are done with hand tools, but for this extra large rain garden, we called in some reinforcement!
Thank goodness we had that backhoe! Look at the size of that boulder!
The crew hard at work shaping the sloped walls, raking the bottom to get it level, and installing downspout extensions.
Installing a downspout extension to bring water from the porch roof to the garden.
After temporary stakes are put in place, the highest point along the garden is edge is found, then all stakes are marked at that level. The garden edges are built up to the highest level with berms to create a bowl shape to hold the rain water while it soaks in.
Berms are built along the lower edges to match the level of the highest point. This ensures an even depth throughout the garden.
Level lines are run across the garden in several directions. The lines are used to measure to the bottom of the garden. Ideally the rain garden will be equally deep everywhere which will allow the water to move through and spread out.
Laura Byergo, Soak Up the Rain Great Bay Project Manager, smiling away as she works the garden edges.
A happy volunteer rain garden installer works on atrench for one of the three downspout extensions.
Feeding a hungry crew on a long work day is always appreciated!
Rain garden crew members smile and take a breath as they fill wheel barrows with soil for the rain garden.
The work crew levels the planting bed while trying not step in it and compact the freshly added soil. The soil is a mix of the native soil that was in dug out plus amendments such as compost.
Sunflowers, grasses, lilies, winterberry, marsh marigold, and other plants wait in the staging area.
Laura Byergo, SOAK Great Bay Project Manager, and Cathy Neal, UNH Cooperative Extension Horticulturist and the designer of this rain garden, take a moment to reflect.
The plants are laid out prior to planting for spacing and eye appeal.
The rain garden coming together! The overflow outlet can be seen in the back right corner. It allows for controlled spillage
Volunteers marked the plants with wooden stakes so visitors can see the types of plants that are appropriate for rain gardens.
Plants are installed in the sloped edges as well as in the heart of the rain garden.
Because this rain garden was installed in October, some of the plants were showing signs of dormancy. They will be ready to bloom in spring!
The finished garden! The plants will grow and fill in over time.
The hardworking rain garden crew!
Woodman rain garden one year later in September with blooming brown eyed Susan and fireworks goldenrod.
The rain garden one year later with a view of one of three inlet pipes.