Columbia Association’s Watershed Plan:
Working for you

Columbia Council Representative Cynthia Coyle received an uplifting letter about rain gardens and how a local resident took matters into her own hands.  CA applauds Joanne, from the village of Harper’s Choice, for her support of CA’s Watershed Plan and her desire to keep Columbia beautiful.

I just installed a native plant rain garden in the traffic circle at the end of Wood Elves Way. This was paid for (in part) through the Howard County Cul-de-Sac Beautification program (administered by the village centers).

The rain garden is a trench dug at the lowest point of the circle---where the rain would otherwise run off directly into the storm drain---and filled with gravel, compost, clay, and native plants that like lots of water. The ones I planted are cardinal flower, turtlehead, and ginger, which are also shade-tolerant. If you look at it, it looks like a triangular flower garden, but I hope it will absorb and filter rain water that would otherwise wash right into the Middle Patuxent.

A rain garden is a really simple way to help water quality, as well as take advantage of low places in your yard. (See http://www.rainscaping.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/home.showpage
/pageID/5/index.htm for instructions on building one.)

If you want to put one in a traffic circle, the county will reimburse $200 to the residents.

I urge all you dog-walkers to check it out (from a respectful distance, of course).

Joanne, Harper’s Choice

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