Green Living Tips – Rain Barrels!

Landscape Architects have been on the cutting edge of combining sustainable and green trends with land use planning for decades.  Now there are numerous  affordable green garden steps  you  can take in your own garden spaces that will greatly impact our environment.  Today  our Green Living tip falls into the Water Conservation category;  recycle water  by adding a rain barrel!

Rain barrels come in all shapes, sizes and colors, and the uses are limitless — you can attach a standard garden hose to your barrel, or you can attach a soaker hose.  You can also use your rainwater in your watering cans for your containers and pots.   Because we love added bonuses here at GardenWise — here’s a good one: rain barrels  reduce the amount of water around the foundations of your home!

 

Adding a rain barrell to your landscape is a pretty simple project that can be completed in a single day.  Did you know a typical 1/2″ rain storm will fill a 50 gallon rain barrel, while a 1″ rainstorm produces 1/2 gallon of water per square foot of roof area?  That’s a whole lot of water to recycle,  and a lot less water you’ll be paying for from you local water authority.    There are many rain barrel options to be found at garden centers an online.  A company I work with, Gutter Supply,  has a lot of options to choose from that will allow you to  seamlessly incorporate a rain barrel into your  landscape design.  If you think it’ s unsightly to have a barrel in your landscape, keep in mind it’s pretty easy to design a hidden area for your barrell, such as this bamboo structure in a garden corner.