Rain Gardens

A Planting Plan to Get

You Started

Considerations

The shape of your rain garden can be modified to increase visual

appeal from your favorite window, the driveway, etc. Just remem-

ber to keep the long side of the garden perpendicular to the down-

spout to maximize rainwater capture.

The size of your rain garden can easily be increased or decreased.

Add more of plants already in the plan, or introduce new plants

from the list. To make your garden smaller, remove plants from the

planting plan. Just remember to keep plants in their proper garden

zone!

Purchasing fewer and/or smaller plants are great ways to save

money. However, it will take more time for the plants to mature, and

will require extra weeding to keep your rain garden looking good.

Conversely, larger and/or more plants will fill in faster, minimizing

maintenance but increasing your cost.

Because of Jackson County’s long dry summer, many plants used

in rain gardens elsewhere in Oregon won’t survive without at least

some supplemental irrigation. Using native plants will decrease the

amount of irrigation needed. If you do choose plants that require irri-

gation, remember to conserve water by either the method of irrigation

or by irrigating deeply but infrequently.

This brochure made possible with help from Rogue Valley Council of Governments

573 Parsons Drive, Suite 102 Medford, OR 97501

Phone: (541) 734-3143 Fax: (541) 776-4295

www.jswcd.org

For more information or assistance in planning your

rain garden please contact :

Jackson SWCD at 541-734-3143 or www.jswcd.org

Rogue Valley Council of Governments at www.rvcog.org

or your local watershed council.

The Rain Garden Plan

The Plant List

Alternative Plants Here are a few possible solutions for plant substitutions. When substitut-

ing, remember to consider drainage, sun, and water requirements.

Basin Plants: Slough Sedge (Carex obnupta), Red Alder (Alnus rubra).

Elderberry (Sambucus Mexicana), New Zealand Orange Sedge (Carex

testacea), Pacific willow (Salix lucida), Common Camas (Camassia qua-

mash), Small-flowered bulrush (Scirpus microcarpus)

Slope Plants: Tufted Hair Grass (Deschampsia caespitosa), Wild Straw-

berry (Fragaria virginiana), Sala (Gaultheria shallon), Spanish Lavender

(Lavandula stoechas), Dull Oregon Grape (Mahonia nervosa), Daffodil

(Narcissus), Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus), River lupine (Lupinus

rivularis)

Upper Edge: Douglas Iris (Iris douglasii), Evergreen Huckleberry

(Vaccinium ovatum), Sword fern (Polystichum munitum), Wild ginger

(Sasarum caudatum), Inside-out flower (Vancouveria hexandra), West-

ern bleeding heart (Dicentra Formosa)

Code Common Name Scientific Name Height Width

A Western Redbud Cercis occidentalis 10-18’ 12’

B Checkermallow Sidalcea malviflora 24” 1.5’

C Silver Spreader Artemisia caucasica 3-6” 2’

D Sweet Flag Acorus calamus 4-5’ 2’

E Swamp Milkweed Asclepias incarnata 3’ 1’

F Santa Barbara Sedge Carex barbarae 1-3’ 2’

G New Zealand Hair

Sedge

Carex comans 2-5’ 1’

H Yarrow Achillea 2’ 1’

J Dwarf Lavender Lavandula angustifolia 2-3’ 18”

K Creeping Grape Mahonia repens 1’ 3’

Zone

S

B

U

B

B

B

B

S

S

S

I U Iceplant Delosperma cooperi 3” 1.5’

The Rain Garden Completed