Dealing With Excessive Rain in the Garden

Mitigate the effects of erosion and flooding through plant selection, technique, and design

The National Climate Assessment report in 2014 that storms have been dumping more and more pelting , with some parts of the United States experiencing a 70 % growth in the amount of rain fall during heavy storms . In southwestern Wisconsin , one August storm in 2018 dropped more than 15 column inch of rain overnight , smashing our state ’s previous 24 - 60 minutes rainfall record of 11 in .

Since the summertime of 2018 , there has been above - average rain and wintertime precipitation across the Upper Midwest specifically . It has been a boggy class and a one-half , and the situation is expect to persist , with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicting 40 % above - average precipitation this wintertime . Snow and ice bring their own challenge , but now is also a good time to brainstorm ways to make your garden more bouncy to big pelting and flooding in the upcoming year . There are fashion we can help our gardens sail through the rain so they can gleam in the sun .

Plants growing close together service to prevent erosion . Erosion because of heavy rain wash off precious garden soil out of our yard and into local watersheds . Within your garden , the first whole step you’re able to take to prevent erosion is to treat bare soil . mulch your garden with sliced hardwood barque works well , but the good way to protect garden soil is with a web of plants planted closely together . Their close canopy of leaves above ground break up rainfall , and the system of root knitting stain particles together below keep it in position . The Know Maintenance Perennial Gardenby Midwestern sustainable gardening expert Roy Diblik is a great introduction to the techniques and benefits of designing gardens with plant community in mind .

On the scale of individual plants , flopping from heavy rain can be lessened by cut taller perennials back by a third in late May . This technique , often called theChelsea Chop , promotes the ontogenesis of branching points and overall sturdy plant . This technique works well on bee balm ( Monardaspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–9 ) , garden phlox ( Phlox paniculataand resume . , Zones 4–8 ) , aster ( Symphyotrichum , Eurybia , andAsterspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–8 ) , and other late bloomers in the daisy home , such as ox - eye daisies ( Heliopsisspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–9 ) and sunflowers ( Helianthusspp . and cvs . , Zones 4–9 ) .

High humidness also contributes to hard - to - control condition plant life disease like powdery and downy mildew . Selecting plant varieties multiply for disease resistance is key . Richard Hawke’snotes from relative trials of ornamental plantsat Chicago Botanic Garden provide great information about disease underground , and All - American Selections winner are a well place to start looking for repellent vegetable form .

A more hard return to address on a gardening scale is flood and the effects of abide water . Above - norm rainfall and melting of a punishing wintertime snowpack have created on-going flood conditions throughout the Midwest , with late conditions rivaling the devastation of the Great Flood of 1993 . Traditional Kentucky bluegrass lawn ( Poa pratensis , Zones 3–7 ) are especially vulnerable to damage from remain firm pee . If water pools in your lawn , consider converting target areas to rainwater gardens or other moisture tolerant plantings . Many sedges ( Carexspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–10 ) have a grassy look but tolerate more moisture . Clustered plain sedge ( Carex praegracilis , Zones 4–8 ) and fringe sedge ( Carexcrinite , Zones 3–8 ) suffer both wetness and drought and can be mow in a mode like to turf .

choose plants for area that can be flooded for weeks at a time can be tough , with few plant tolerating both intermittent dispassionateness and stand water . Here at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison , a few perennial that have survive stand water system over a long period admit fresh flag ( Acorus quill , Zones 4–10 ) , fringe sedge ( Carex crinita , Zones 3–8 ) , Joe Pye weed ( EutrochiumandEupatoriumspp . and cvs . , Zones 4–9 ) , crimson - eyed rose mallow ( Hibiscus moscheutos , Zones 5–8 ) and white turtlehead ( Chelone glabra , Zones 3–8 ) . We ’ve also been happy to see native bush such as buttonbush ( Cephalanthus occidentalis , Zones 5–9 ) , possum haw holly ( Ilex verticillata , Zones 3–9 ) , and spicebush ( Lindera benzoin , Zones 4–9 ) thriving after periods of inundation .

Excessive rainfall and flooding are conditions that we can look to see more of during times of global climate change , but like all gardening obstacles , with appropriate attention to ethnical conditions , plant option , and criminal maintenance techniques , we can create garden that proceed to thrive .

— Erin Presley is a horticulturist at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison , Wisconsin .

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