Storm Water and Rain Gardens

Our interest and knowledge in sustainable site design demands responsible handling and use of storm water. We subscribe to the tenets of Low Impact Development (LID) and the incorporation of Best Management Practices (BMP) to reduce run-off and pollutants.

 

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Where does the rain go?

“Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” So says Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and, as anyone who has lived through the swelter of our recent droughts can tell you, there are numerous reasons to consider proactive storm water usage in landscape design:

    • We make sure to capture and utilize every drop.
    • We can direct runoff to areas where it is most needed.
    • Proper planning supports unique plant communities.
    • A stormwater plan can help to abate flooding and decrease erosion.
    • Given regional scarcity, water is becoming more expensive.

Rain Gardens and Swales:

Most every gardener wants a water feature, but not everyone wants the trouble and expense that come with maintaining one. At Verdant, we have years of experience in purposing stormwater and runoff in fun and beautiful ways.

Grading and drainage are basic elements of any landscape design, but Verdant Enterprises goes one step further. Our special focus on sustainability requires that we develop site-specific residential and commercial stormwater management systems. Most of our projects now provide for some form of on-site water conveyance, absorption, storage and plant utilization.

What does that mean to you? It means the wet places on your land are repurposed as elegant bogs and swales, attractive rain gardens and detention/retention ponds.

These techniques dovetail beautifully with native plantings of aquatic and marginal plants and the use of regionally-adaptive hardscape elements (pervious and impervious), such as retaining walls, check dams, stepping stones and footbridges.

What sets Verdant apart?

Our study of the plant communities associated with natural drainage patterns gives us a unique insight into the need for onsite utilization of stormwater. Whether your concern is salt-to-freshwater transition within the maritime zone or erosion control on a steep mountain site, your project will benefit from Verdant’s regional expertise.

Our firm has developed sustainable water features for residential, commercial and institutional sites. We are also fully capable of designing to accommodate for the storm events so common to the region and we have collaborated with leading civil engineers on larger projects where permits are required to this end.