Water may discharge from a planter into the normal drains or it could be diverted further into a Rain Garden. Cut off or divert the downpipe from the roof to flow into your raingarden planter. You may need to add a downpipe shoe to direct the water correctly. Placing large stones below the spout will prevent splashing and will help to filter debris. 6. Get planting:

Based on trial data, the narrower diameter is recommended to limit the flow out of the planter to a reasonable level to maximise the potential for flood storage, especially where extra storage was provided by the geocellular storage. One hour after a rainfall event begins, up to 0.75m 3of water can drain from the bottom of the planter.SuDS planters, or stormwater planters, are a sustainable stormwater management solution with their intelligent internal drainage system. With both bio-retention and additional internal storage, these planters are an innovative solution to property level retrofit SuDS and can work out as much less expensive than most groundwork interventions. With a minimum planting layer of 450 mm and further 50 mmgap to the top of the planter, this would leave approximately 300 mm for a sub-base / storage layer. A rain garden planter is filled with layers of drainage clay pebbles/shingle, and a specialist free draining growing medium. They are isolated from the water management system by a geotextile layer. The planter is lined to form a waterproof seal to retain the stormwater for regulated slow release. With both bioretention and additional internal storage, theseplanters arean innovative solution to property level retro-fit SuDS, and can work out very much less expensive than most groundworks interventions.

Multiply the area of the roof by 0.2 (20%) to obtain the area of the rain garden to accommodate typical UK summer rainfall. Even if you don’t have room fora rain gardenyou can still implement sustainable stormwater management. Rain gardenplanters, or gutter planters, handle rainwaterrunoff from rooftops and operate like a rain garden inside a planter. Surface water management approaches that take into account water quantity (flooding), water quality (pollution), biodiversity (wildlife) and amenity are collectively known as sustainable drainage systems (SuDS). Add some gravel to the base of your planter and position the slotted pipe so that it drains down towards the outlet. Push the drainage pipe through the liner and connect up the overflow pipe. Seal up your pipes with silicon and tape. Add the remaining gravel to cover the pipes and top with permeable membrane to stop rainwater washing the soil out. Add a layer of sand and then fill with a mix of soil/compost to sand in the ratio 4:1. 5. Aim the downpipe Larch produces its own intrinsic preservative providing a very long planter life without the use of toxic preservatives.On a soil that drains at 5cm (2in) per hour, the rain garden would need to be 15cm (6in) deep, with an extra 5cm-10cm (2-5in) below the lowest point where excess water would leave. A less well-drained soil would necessitate a deeper rain garden. The basics of how to make a rain garden Water Quantity - Controlling the quantity of runoff to support the management of flood risk and maintain and protect the natural water cycle. Be aware of underground services, such as gas and electricity, and dig carefully if you are not sure oftheir exact position. A rain garden should be located; For the rain garden to collect the optimum volume of rain, the longer side should face up the slope If possible, place the rain garden on a gentle slope. The slope should be less than 12% and need to make sure the rain garden is not located over water pipes or other underground infrastructure.

The soil/compost mix absorbs and stores the rainwater for the plants to use. Excess rainwater filters into the gravel layer where it is stored and at a controlled rate released from the base drainage pipe. Rain Gardens – Managing water sustainably in the garden and landscape by Nigel Dunnett and Andy Clayden (Timber Press 2007, ISBN 978-0-88192-826-6) When you incorporate a SuDS system (or any other drainage system), it must be submitted to the local planning authority (LPA) for your project. To avoid weed growth between new plants, consider sowing a flower seed mix suited to the conditions to infill while plants establish Your horizontal drainpipe should sit along the bottom of the planter above a bed of gravel. Image by South East Rivers 4. Start filling it up!Lay the plants out, still in their containers, according to a plan, so you can move them around if necessary The choice of plants will be governed by regional rainfall and speed of drainage. On a less well-drained soil (clay) or areas with regular heavy rain, plants tolerant of wetter soil may be needed. This is not a bog garden, however (i.e. it cannot be guaranteed to be damp all year round). For the base and inlet on moisture-retentive soils Put simply, a rain garden is a shallow area of ground or dip which receives run-off from roofs and other hard surfaces. It is planted with plants that can stand waterlogging for up to 48 hours at a time. More drought-tolerant plants are used towards the edges. Storm water fills the depression and then drains.