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How to Maintain Your Rain Garden Congratulations on your new rain garden! In order to keep your rain garden looking great and functioning as it should, follow these maintenance suggestions for each season! Winter Spring Summer Fall Thank you to our sources! To learn more about rain gardens, use the QR code to visit our website! Created by Carefully Remove Snow Make sure that you are not plowing or shoveling snow into your rain garden since excess snowpack can compact soil. Keep de-icing salt from sidewalks and roads out of the rain garden area, as salt can be toxic to your plants. Mark boundaries of your garden so snowplows and shovels don’t cause damage. Prune Shrubs Some shrubs may need pruning toward the end of the season to keep your garden looking tidy. Maintain Equipment Clean and repair garden tools so that they are ready to go in spring! Plan for the Spring Think about any additional plants you may want to add to your garden or ones that have overgrown that you can divide. Plan to do anything that would allow you to enjoy your garden even more! Mulch Apply new mulch in areas that are thin to maintain a 3” layer across the garden in order to hold in moisture and deter weed growth. Inspect Before the growing season starts, check that all drainage ways are unobstructed. Inspect your berm to ensure that winter damage has not occurred. Remove any trash, sediment, or excess leaves that may have accumulated in the garden. After rain events, make sure your garden is draining in less than 24 hours. Inspect for signs of erosion. Pull Weeds Remove cool-season weeds before Memorial Day when they typically sprout and set. If you don’t, they will be very difficult to remove later. Avoid using herbicides to remove weeds as this often harms desirable plants and beneficial insects. Pull Weeds Remove warm-season weeds before the 4th of July. Monitor and remove weeds throughout the season. Inspect Continue inspecting for signs of erosion, especially along the garden’s sides. If erosion occurs, re-grade the eroded area and replant with a clump-forming grass or sedge. If the erosion continues, place large cobblestones or boulders in the eroded area. Water If your garden is young, make sure to water it during times of drought to help establish root systems. Maintain Perennials (if desired) Many herbaceous perennials set seed in late summer. If you want to promote self-seeding, leave these alone until spring and/or manually re-seed grasses and wildflowers. If you want to maintain a tidy garden, consider cutting these plants back. Inspect Check that all original plant species are still present in the garden. If you notice that a specific plant continually looks sad, reevaluate its sun and moisture preferences and consider planting it elsewhere in your garden. Fall is a good time to make adjustments and replant if needed. Clean up Remove excess leaves and ensure drainage ways are cleared of leaves. A small layer (less than of leaves may be beneficial to the garden as a source of nutrients and will often break down by next year’s growing season. Trim shrubs and trees if needed. Mulch Add mulch to maintain a 3” depth if needed. Perennial Division (if desired) Divide any large or overgrown perennials to plant elsewhere in the yard or to give to friends.