Rain Gardens: Managing Water Sustainably in the Garden and Designed Landscape

I came upon this book for my research on rain gardens and various methods of bioremediation, the books packs a significant amount of wisdom and details into its modest number of pages, well developed and very comprehensive for projects on a relatively small-scale site.

A very informative book on an important topic. Pictures are used well to illustrate.

Let me first state that this is an excellent book. However, it is really a book about taking things to the next level. If you are looking for solid how-to information about installing a rain garden in your back yard, you might be disappointed. Landscape architects, designers and accomplished amateurs with advanced skill sets looking to handle water both innovatively and creatively will delight in this book. I did ... but then I already have three rain gardens in my own landscape and teach how-to classes on installing them. If the concept of rain gardens intrigues you and you are looking for the basics on a DIY level, the free, downloadable rain garden manual from the University of Wisconsin is still the best source of that information, as of January 2008. This book has a decidedly European flavor to it. And why shouldn't it? It is written by a couple of Brits. Although I am hard-pressed to see how some of the models given in the book will pass muster with the Americans with Disabilities Act, codes and other regulatory bodies, they should indeed stimulate the mind. The examples (of which there are many) also include public and even larger municipal installations. I find this a good thing for Americans to be exposed to. The Europeans are far ahead of us in green thinking. Included are some examples of essentially, municipal civil engineering projects both implemented and functioning with panache. This is a book that I value having in my personal library. Someone looking for basic information may not.

As some of you may know, the LEED building rating system focuses on 6 key areas: Sustainable site development (SS), water savings/efficiency (WE), energy & atmosphere (EA), materials and resource (MR), indoor environmental quality (IEQ), and innovations & design process (ID). "Rain Gardens: Managing Water Sustainably in the Garden and Designed Landscape" is a very useful book on water savings/efficiency (WE). It described various ways of caturing, channeling, diverting and re-using water from rain and snow, including permeable paving, storm-water chains, bioretention ponds and green roofs. Rain gardens create great environment for wild life. They are visually pleasant, economical and sustainable. I live very close to several of the retention ponds of my local water district. They are fine examples of rain gardens, I always love to visit them and see the beautiful birds and plants in or near the retention ponds. Nigel Dunnett and Andy Clayden described many of the techniques that are used by my local water district. These techniques are unconventional and can be useful all over the world. They can effectively capture the storm water and let the water settle and clean itself through the natural process and save it for drought period, instead of using concrete-paved flood channel to rush the storm water to the ocean. "Rain Gardens: Managing Water Sustainably in the Garden and Designed Landscape" has 188 pages and many line drawings and beautiful interior color photos. It is a great book on sustainable design. Gang Chen, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Author of "LEED GA Exam Guide," "Architectural Practice Simplified," "Planting Design Illustrated," and other books on various LEED exams, architecture, and landscape architecture

This source book of ideas of how to make your home an easier to maintain and more ecological system is amazing. I will be using this to de-commission my lawn mower, save time and money and be more ecological. This is a real winner.