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Water Drums and Rain Gardens

by / 15 Comments / 13294 View / February 9, 2009

It has been raining in Los Angeles through the weekend and the ornamental pear trees, Pyrus kawakami, have never looked more dramatic with their dark black trunks and white blossoms.

My "dry creek" is actually running now, having served only a decorative purpose most of the time.

I love what the rain does to my garden.

 

The photo is from a display garden at Epcot.

Other great ideas for harvesting and using rain water on the Sunset magazine website.

Check out the post for yourself:  "How to Save Money on a Rainy Day."

Enjoy the rain Angelenos!

15 Comment

  1. I need to stop looking at these beautiful summer images because I'm suppose to be preparing for a home full of friends and family  for Thanksgiving!  I just can't get enough of the use of color in that top image.

  2. Hi Shirley,
    What a great idea! I could imagine it, in my head. I’m going to try it.

  3. Here is a diagram created by the talented landscape imagineers at Epcot!

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  4. Thats an excellent idea, but how do you disperse the water into your garden?

  5. Hi David=Spring is coming, hold on!

    Hi Renate- I enjoy the sound of the rain beating on my roof, I wish it were a tin roof for a more interesting sound.

    Welcome Christine! You may want to put the gun down when you ask your neighbors to “plant outside the drip line,” it may scare the beejeebies out of them! Your tone is fine though.
    Shirley

  6. I love that idea for under a downspout. For some reason many houses in Savannah don’t have gutters. For this reason, we’re always shouting, “Plant outside the drip line, people! For the love of all that is good and holy!” They don’t always listen. Could it be our tone?

    Thanks for the nice note on my blog. I responded there!

  7. Isn’t the rain great! I actually have my own music between the downspouts and skylights ;-> . Mr. Mouse sometimes can’t sleep it’s so loud, but it’s music to my ears…

  8. […] aiding the environment while also conserving cash? Now that’s a triple threat of an idea from Shirley Bovshow’s EdenMakers’s Blog, where she talks about water drums and rain gardens. (Even if you don’t live in southern […]

  9. Ah, there’s the rub, Shirley. I wouldn’t mind winter if it were a question of “snow” (we’ve had a few 6-inch+ storms this year, but nothing especially out of the ordinary). The problem where I live is that we’re in an intermediate zone: it’s cold enough to receive snow, but not cold enough to *maintain* that snow — i.e., as a fluffy substance. Instead, the snow melts, only to have it re-freeze, as ice. So, until just recently (we’ve had a good thaw), what we encountered upon stepping outside here was a nasty sheet of ice, not a pleasant, powdery snow. Not far to our north, just beyond what I’m calling the “intermediate zone,” they don’t seem to have this problem: it snows there, and that’s what they’re left with, until spring — a nice blanket of snow.

    To end on a positive note, though, my snowdrops are up, putting me very much in a spring mood!

  10. Hi David,
    Thanks for the visit. I do enjoy the blossoms on the ornamental and fruiting trees this time of year. How much snow do you get in your area?
    Shirley

  11. Hi Shirley,

    Glad you’re enjoying your pear trees. Ornamental pears are very popular in my area. Many towns line their Main Streets with them; my neighbors also have some — I get to follow their changes from season to season. The clouds of spring blooms they produce are a welcome sight after the long winter. In November, it puts on one of the latest fall foliage displays, bridging the gap between the fiery red of October’s maples and December’s first blanket of snow. Fortunately, the ‘Bradford’ cultivar’s susceptibility to wind damage hasn’t turned folks off on all pear trees!

  12. Hi Nancy, Great to hear from you. I hope you have been well and that your snow starts melting soon!
    Shirley

    Hi Anna, I also love Sunset magazine and get lot’s of clever ideas from them. The rain drums are definitely a new one for me.
    Shirley

    Hi Sean- Yes, I loved this design when I saw it too! I have dry creeks around my yard in low areas to channel runoff but I’ve yet to install my rain barrels. I guess I’m just not in a hurry with the little rain we get here. No excuse though. Thankfully, my dry rivers have been adequate in redirecting water into the garden instead of the street!
    Shirley

  13. Hey Shirley,

    Great photo! I have one food grade turned water barrel that fills in one mild rain storm. Its truly amazing the potential of rainwater harvesting. I’m thinking of getting more and purchasing the interconnection kit so that they have more capacity.

    Sean (aka “Bamboo Geek”)

  14. Isn’t that nifty. We usually get a good amount of rain here in NC. That is a very cool idea. I love Sunset magazine.

  15. Thanks SO much for this link, Shirley — amazing!! And I love your creek. 🙂

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