five- by eight-foot rain garden at a rental home they own in Mount Pleasant . Rain was causing erosion around the back porch , washing away landscaping mulch and preventing grass from growing in spots of the backyard , Karen Piret said . The small rain garden was a simple and inexpensive fix , she said . “ There are no more water issues ,” said Piret , who graduated from Clemson Extensions ’ Master Gardener program . “ We are really happy this solved our problems because then we didn ’ t have to dig a drain and run tubing . That would have been a lot of work .”
George Aaron , also a Master Gardener , installed two rain gardens near his home — one about 10 by 18 feet and a second six by eight feet — to pull water away from his home and also rid his yard of puddles after rainfall . “ I live on the marsh , so we also wanted to keep the runoff out of the marsh ,” Aaron said .
Rain Garden Resources To learn more about rain gardens , find the Clemson Extension “ Carolina Rain Garden Initiative ” at
www . clemson . edu / raingarden . Resources include :
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Virtual Rain Garden , a step-by-step video tutorial on rain garden design and installation
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The Clemson Extension “ A Guide to Rain Gardens in South Carolina ” manual 2016
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Listing of upcoming rain garden programs and workshops
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Demonstration rain gardens throughout South Carolina
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Links to Carolina Yards plant database and more . NK
Kim Counts Morganello is a Water Resources Agent for the Clemson Extension Service and Carolina Clear program . Kim co-coordinates the Ashley Cooper Stormwater Education
Consortium ; in this role , she works with community and education partners to promote watershed stewardship by providing education and involvement opportunities in the Charleston region and beyond . Kim has experience both in practice and instruction of landscape-level best management practices for protecting downstream water quality , with particular emphasis on rain gardens , rainwater harvesting , the use of native plants , and vegetative buffers .
When not at work , Kim is typically found enjoying the lowcountry waterways .
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