The seminal book is by Brad Lancaster, called Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond. I got to interview him for a class in college and he is such an incredible person-- has just about singlehandedly changed entire neighborhoods in Tucson, for example.
I don't have an online resource to share, but I do have 2 tips!
1. Make sure the barrel is raised up at least a couple of feet from ground height. It makes the water flow so much nicer to fill whatever containers you're using to haul water. Also just easier on your back not to have to bend over so much.
2. Have a decent plan for overflow so that it doesn't just end up at your foundation. Ask my wet basement how many times I've had to rework our overflow to get it as far away from our house as possible. 🤦♀️ It's a conundrum to have easy access to the downspouts on the house, but overflow far away from the house.
3. Put a screen over where the downspout pours into it so that it keeps organic matter out and mosquitos from breeding.
Our rain barrel is one of those big square plastic things with a metal cage around it. We bought it on craigslist maybe 10 years ago. According to the label, in a previous life it contained a whole lot of Snapple!
My parents were having overflow issues in the rainy PNW. Their solution was additional barrels—they now have two at each station, which both fill up over the late winter/early spring! It was an investment but their city had rebates and the barrels paid for themselves super quickly in water bill savings.
There's some good advice already, but I'll add that many municipalities offer rain barrels at a discount. I have two made by Rain Water Solutions that I got from my city.
I don't know if we did it right, but when it was clear that the house next door was going to be torn down and everything on the property hauled away to a landfill to put up a McMansion, we went on a rescue mission. In addition to the stone retaining wall (now the border around my front bed), a large wooden planter, and some plants, we rescued two 55 gallon rain barrels.
Our particular roof doesn't have gutters, but it does have places where the gables meet and water flows. So we put the rain barrels under those, and now we have 110 gallons of additional water for the garden. These came in particularly handy last summer during the drought when we were put on water restrictions. We didn't know to raise them up, so they're on the ground and getting to the bottom spigot can be a pain. We usually just lift the lid, lower a watering can and go to town. We're in the process of remodeling the house, so when we get around to residing and have to move them, we'll put them back in a higher position.
What a haul from a rescue mission! I also forgot to elevate a rain barrel before it filled up and I curse it every time I try to use the spigot, lol. Those concrete blocks with two holes that are sold at hardware stores make a great platform.
Just wanted to say how very (very) much I appreciated the site research deep dive. God, I love Garden Study. And your fence corner is delightful--hey, ninebark. Thanks for the whole thing, actually.
Thank you both so much for this amazing interview. The specific recommendations are incredible resources. Also, I much appreciate this passage: "Going down the historic map rabbit hole also makes it viscerally clear that I’m gardening, hiking, all of it, on land that was made available to me by theft and war crimes. I know that’s true nationwide, but it highlighted, for me, the regional dirty dealing that went in a straight line from the Treaty of Greenville to 'there are no federally recognized tribes in Ohio.' I don’t really know how to talk about this." But you brought it up in a thoughtful and compelling way. Thanks, again.
Since you don't want shrubs or trees right against the house again, what about some sizeable ornamental grasses? There should be varieties that are native to the midwest and they make a great backdrop for your perennials, etc. I used a line of fountain grass down the side of a garage at my last house and it was a fantastic fix--plus if you need to do something to the foundation of the house you can chop them off and they'll grow back fine! Easy to tie back to do maintenance, etc.
I second this. We have miscanthus, which is aggressive and on its way to becoming a nightmare (we now cut it down with a chainsaw in the spring--gulp). What we love about it (that you can hopefully get through a friendlier plant--maybe big bluestem??) is that it is tall, brushing our second story windows, and the stalks are strong enough to last all winter. So we have a pretty screen from the road throughout the winter when the other plants aren't doing much.
One of the things I read continously when planning out landscaping, was to leave more room at the foundation than you think you'd need. I planted limelight hydrangea and they pop against the red brick. Pretty low maintenance deciduous shrub and they provide the wild, wow I'm going for.
Woah, this interview / highlight resonated so hard with me. I always tell people I was really invested in buying a house because I wanted to have a long-term relationship with the soil around it - and the plants I could collaborate with there. My house and garden are not fancy or like, historically important, but I feel so connected to this similarly small spot and the legacies inside, on top, around it. I really liked Jess' opening comments about getting to know the land from the bottom up - its geology, groundwater patterns, topsoils, microbial and plant life, weather, social history. Not even thinking about these layers - just like, feeling them in my own garden is such a profound experience. And I really, really appreciate Jess for putting it to words!
Hydrangeas would be lovely in front of your house! Or tall grasses. Hard to tell if it's shady or sunny - I love the combo of hydrangeas, hosta & heuchera in a shady spot.
+1 for hydrangeas. I used to think they were an old lady plant until we had them at a rental house and I really liked them. Fun to add to cut arrangements and pretty east to care for. Also, rhodies & azaleas & camellias.
Thank you both for the ideas! It's part shade right now, but will be a little sunnier once the last yew is gone. I love azaleas, but have always thought my soil was probably too alkaline. A hydrangea could be happier, and I really like the ones with very dark foliage and white blooms.
I second all of these tips and resources! My favorite online resource is the Rain Brothers blog, which has a series of tutorials from the very basic rain barrel to very (entertainingly) intense cistern-scale rainwater harvesting:
Unfortunately they're sorted by most recent, so right away you're confronted with "how to troubleshoot a submersible pump for your vast underground cistern system!" and have to keep clicking show more to get to "5 minute rain barrel DIY!" which I think puts a lot of people off and I wish they'd switch. But here's that early basic rain barrel post:
It uses the kit they sell, but it's similar to a lot of online diverter kits, so you still get a good picture of how you could set one up. And I do like the kit they sell! (I definitely can't make a rain barrel from it in 5 minutes though, that part is bullshit. It is an afternoon project.)
Climbing roses (or other climbing plants) would be lovely against the house, if you have the right conditions! You could train them around the windows so they aren't blocking the light.
The popular climbing rose in the last few years here (zone 9, tropical) is the Peggy Martin. It's big and showy and grows fast. It's known as the Katrina rose because one that was submerged in brackish post-Katrina water survived like a charm. It's bloom is obnoxiously showy and wonderful. I don't know if it's migrated outside the Gulf Coast, but you can order it from the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, TX (and I highly recommend a pilgrimage if you're at all rose inclined) when they open up orders again in the fall.
The 'Peggy Martin' rose grows in USDA hardiness zones 4-9, in full sun, and well-drained soil. This climbing rose grows up to 15 feet tall with a 6-foot spread, so it needs to train on some type of support like a trellis or fence. The pink flowers bloom in the spring, and once the plant is established, you may see a fall encore. This rose is semi-thornless—the backs of the leaves are prickly but the canes don't have thorns. The 'Peggy Martin' is very disease resistant.
“There’s no landscape that is so damaged that it is unworthy of repair” is a wonderful sentiment that I will be taking with me, thank you for that. Great interview and resources!
Thank you, every garden study has been so fascinating. I love the idea of researching the past history of the land, I just found a new way to waste a few hours! For the front, are lavenders an option? A few bushes planted together are a low water, low maintenance way to add wow factor.
Also zone 6B - we have boxwood shrubs just in front of our basement windows in the front as it gives a little privacy but they don't get tall enough to block all the sunlight, and then in front of that hostas, russian sage, coreopsis and a rose bush. Those were all here when we moved in and I have added some tulip and daffodil bulbs for earlier color.
I would love if we could talk more about weed "tea" fertilizers at some point - I started down that rabbit hole a little while ago but so many of the internet sources I could find descend very quickly into pseudoscience and I was left wondering if they were actually effective.
I would love to talk more about this too! There isn't a huge body of peer-reviewed research on them, and I'm very skeptical of extra benefits from "aerated" versions. Stinging nettle has some studies with positive results, although the sample sizes are often small:
This isn't necessarily about this post, but I thought this is the best group to tell this story to.
During the pandemic, I took to walking around my neighborhood quite a bit, and somewhere along the way, I came across this GORGEOUS garden in front of a duplex. It was under a pecan tree, so it needed to be shade loving, but the lady who tended it put these lovely variegated gingers and siam tulips and birds of paradise. The garden had a bit of a slope, so the plants were particularly showy, and she managed to eliminate all grass from the garden. There was a lovely single post handrail on the one step going toward the house that I thought was lovely, wrought iron with pretty designs. It was hit hard by the Texas freeze of '21, but it bounced back with a vengeance afterward. I found myself altering my routes to go past it, and on a few occasions, I saw one of the ladies who lived in the house and gave a wave and a word of appreciation for the garden. She was on a walker, but I think she directed the garden activities or maybe even still did them herself. She always waved off my compliments.
Earlier this year, I noticed neglect in the garden, but I chalked it up to transition from winter (though ours was fairly mild this year) to spring. But yesterday, when I went by, I saw the whole thing had been ripped out and the plants were clearly replaced a landscaping company's work. Straight lines of foxtail ferns and the indica of gardening to fill the space and be cared for by a crew that comes by at regular intervals. I suppose it could have been worse, since they didn't try to put grass in. The handrail was gone.
I suppose the gardener had moved and whoever owns the place took over, not realizing that what was there was probably easier to maintain than the swaths of mulch they put down around the foxtail ferns.
That's heartbreaking. Although you're right, at least it's not sod. I hope some of those plants found homes - everyone I know in landscaping ends up with a little summer plant orphanage of stuff we had to rip out but couldn't bear to dump.
Me too. I get that not everyone is a gardener, but I think a lot of non-gardeners don't really get that the landscaped gardens actually require more work than one like what was there before.
Some ideas for along the house - roses (some handle part shade!), camellia (but you might be a zone too far north?), lilacs (Google varieties or check out the Floret library for varieties), hydrangeas!!
Hi from Zone 6 in Michigan! A few years ago, I re-did my mother’s front border which backed up to a brick wall. I planted a forsythia (they grow very fast) and a Miss Kim lilac, and roses in front of them. You could plant dahlias, but you’ll have to lift and store them for winter. Alternatively, think about some spring bulbs and then hostas to cover the foliage as it dies back.
Hi from across the border! This comment made me realize that I associate forsythia so strongly with farmhouses that it would never have occurred to me to have one here, even though I'm sure I see them in city neighborhoods all the time. That and bulbs are tempting for how early they flower - I want color so badly in the spring.
I was going to suggest the same! Plus deer mostly leave them alone, which is a major plus in my deer-filled town. They’re a popular foundation plant here and they just make me so happy
You know, I'm hacking down my last yew and I think it might be sunny enough for a peony! There are so many varieties, it's a whole new avenue for daydreaming, lol.
that's what we do - hostas (house came with SO many hostas) + some nice bushes (we have hydrangeas and azaleas) and then dahlias in between. gonna add a forsythia thanks for the tip!
good call! i divided some and left them on the curb, and then felt bad and planted them somewhere else in the yard ha. I'll think more about it, thanks!
I personally want to know a lot more about rain barrels — is there a good book to read or an online resource you'd recommend?
The seminal book is by Brad Lancaster, called Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond. I got to interview him for a class in college and he is such an incredible person-- has just about singlehandedly changed entire neighborhoods in Tucson, for example.
I don't have an online resource to share, but I do have 2 tips!
1. Make sure the barrel is raised up at least a couple of feet from ground height. It makes the water flow so much nicer to fill whatever containers you're using to haul water. Also just easier on your back not to have to bend over so much.
2. Have a decent plan for overflow so that it doesn't just end up at your foundation. Ask my wet basement how many times I've had to rework our overflow to get it as far away from our house as possible. 🤦♀️ It's a conundrum to have easy access to the downspouts on the house, but overflow far away from the house.
3. Put a screen over where the downspout pours into it so that it keeps organic matter out and mosquitos from breeding.
Our rain barrel is one of those big square plastic things with a metal cage around it. We bought it on craigslist maybe 10 years ago. According to the label, in a previous life it contained a whole lot of Snapple!
Ooh yes, forgot about the screen. Also, make sure the screen isn't too tiny holes that fast rain won't go through it - another overflow issue!
And make sure to clean the screen from time to time, because otherwise water doesn't get through.
My parents were having overflow issues in the rainy PNW. Their solution was additional barrels—they now have two at each station, which both fill up over the late winter/early spring! It was an investment but their city had rebates and the barrels paid for themselves super quickly in water bill savings.
There's some good advice already, but I'll add that many municipalities offer rain barrels at a discount. I have two made by Rain Water Solutions that I got from my city.
I don't know if we did it right, but when it was clear that the house next door was going to be torn down and everything on the property hauled away to a landfill to put up a McMansion, we went on a rescue mission. In addition to the stone retaining wall (now the border around my front bed), a large wooden planter, and some plants, we rescued two 55 gallon rain barrels.
Our particular roof doesn't have gutters, but it does have places where the gables meet and water flows. So we put the rain barrels under those, and now we have 110 gallons of additional water for the garden. These came in particularly handy last summer during the drought when we were put on water restrictions. We didn't know to raise them up, so they're on the ground and getting to the bottom spigot can be a pain. We usually just lift the lid, lower a watering can and go to town. We're in the process of remodeling the house, so when we get around to residing and have to move them, we'll put them back in a higher position.
What a haul from a rescue mission! I also forgot to elevate a rain barrel before it filled up and I curse it every time I try to use the spigot, lol. Those concrete blocks with two holes that are sold at hardware stores make a great platform.
We have a ton of rescued plant because the McMansions are unfortunately a commonality around here.
We have some concrete blocks that were holding up our deck, and I think they'd be perfect. When we move the barrels, we'll put them on the blocks.
Just wanted to say how very (very) much I appreciated the site research deep dive. God, I love Garden Study. And your fence corner is delightful--hey, ninebark. Thanks for the whole thing, actually.
Thank you both so much for this amazing interview. The specific recommendations are incredible resources. Also, I much appreciate this passage: "Going down the historic map rabbit hole also makes it viscerally clear that I’m gardening, hiking, all of it, on land that was made available to me by theft and war crimes. I know that’s true nationwide, but it highlighted, for me, the regional dirty dealing that went in a straight line from the Treaty of Greenville to 'there are no federally recognized tribes in Ohio.' I don’t really know how to talk about this." But you brought it up in a thoughtful and compelling way. Thanks, again.
Since you don't want shrubs or trees right against the house again, what about some sizeable ornamental grasses? There should be varieties that are native to the midwest and they make a great backdrop for your perennials, etc. I used a line of fountain grass down the side of a garage at my last house and it was a fantastic fix--plus if you need to do something to the foundation of the house you can chop them off and they'll grow back fine! Easy to tie back to do maintenance, etc.
I second this. We have miscanthus, which is aggressive and on its way to becoming a nightmare (we now cut it down with a chainsaw in the spring--gulp). What we love about it (that you can hopefully get through a friendlier plant--maybe big bluestem??) is that it is tall, brushing our second story windows, and the stalks are strong enough to last all winter. So we have a pretty screen from the road throughout the winter when the other plants aren't doing much.
Brushing your 2nd-story windows! I'm super into the idea of a towering bluestem or Indian grass plume, going to think about this...
One of the things I read continously when planning out landscaping, was to leave more room at the foundation than you think you'd need. I planted limelight hydrangea and they pop against the red brick. Pretty low maintenance deciduous shrub and they provide the wild, wow I'm going for.
Woah, this interview / highlight resonated so hard with me. I always tell people I was really invested in buying a house because I wanted to have a long-term relationship with the soil around it - and the plants I could collaborate with there. My house and garden are not fancy or like, historically important, but I feel so connected to this similarly small spot and the legacies inside, on top, around it. I really liked Jess' opening comments about getting to know the land from the bottom up - its geology, groundwater patterns, topsoils, microbial and plant life, weather, social history. Not even thinking about these layers - just like, feeling them in my own garden is such a profound experience. And I really, really appreciate Jess for putting it to words!
"the plants I could collaborate with there" -->I like this so much!
Hydrangeas would be lovely in front of your house! Or tall grasses. Hard to tell if it's shady or sunny - I love the combo of hydrangeas, hosta & heuchera in a shady spot.
+1 for hydrangeas. I used to think they were an old lady plant until we had them at a rental house and I really liked them. Fun to add to cut arrangements and pretty east to care for. Also, rhodies & azaleas & camellias.
Thank you both for the ideas! It's part shade right now, but will be a little sunnier once the last yew is gone. I love azaleas, but have always thought my soil was probably too alkaline. A hydrangea could be happier, and I really like the ones with very dark foliage and white blooms.
I second all of these tips and resources! My favorite online resource is the Rain Brothers blog, which has a series of tutorials from the very basic rain barrel to very (entertainingly) intense cistern-scale rainwater harvesting:
https://www.rainbrothers.com/rain-brothers-tutorials
Unfortunately they're sorted by most recent, so right away you're confronted with "how to troubleshoot a submersible pump for your vast underground cistern system!" and have to keep clicking show more to get to "5 minute rain barrel DIY!" which I think puts a lot of people off and I wish they'd switch. But here's that early basic rain barrel post:
https://www.rainbrothers.com/how-to-build-a-rain-barrel
It uses the kit they sell, but it's similar to a lot of online diverter kits, so you still get a good picture of how you could set one up. And I do like the kit they sell! (I definitely can't make a rain barrel from it in 5 minutes though, that part is bullshit. It is an afternoon project.)
Climbing roses (or other climbing plants) would be lovely against the house, if you have the right conditions! You could train them around the windows so they aren't blocking the light.
The popular climbing rose in the last few years here (zone 9, tropical) is the Peggy Martin. It's big and showy and grows fast. It's known as the Katrina rose because one that was submerged in brackish post-Katrina water survived like a charm. It's bloom is obnoxiously showy and wonderful. I don't know if it's migrated outside the Gulf Coast, but you can order it from the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, TX (and I highly recommend a pilgrimage if you're at all rose inclined) when they open up orders again in the fall.
Read about it here: https://www.southernliving.com/garden/rose-survived-katrina
The 'Peggy Martin' rose grows in USDA hardiness zones 4-9, in full sun, and well-drained soil. This climbing rose grows up to 15 feet tall with a 6-foot spread, so it needs to train on some type of support like a trellis or fence. The pink flowers bloom in the spring, and once the plant is established, you may see a fall encore. This rose is semi-thornless—the backs of the leaves are prickly but the canes don't have thorns. The 'Peggy Martin' is very disease resistant.
The recessed part might not get enough sun, but I have been thinking about a rose on the non-mail-slot side of the door!
“There’s no landscape that is so damaged that it is unworthy of repair” is a wonderful sentiment that I will be taking with me, thank you for that. Great interview and resources!
Thank you, every garden study has been so fascinating. I love the idea of researching the past history of the land, I just found a new way to waste a few hours! For the front, are lavenders an option? A few bushes planted together are a low water, low maintenance way to add wow factor.
Oh wanted to add, that I get lavender hybrids that are able to withstand -20 C temperatures here (Greater Toronto Area, zone 4).
Lavendar's a good border idea, thanks!
Also zone 6B - we have boxwood shrubs just in front of our basement windows in the front as it gives a little privacy but they don't get tall enough to block all the sunlight, and then in front of that hostas, russian sage, coreopsis and a rose bush. Those were all here when we moved in and I have added some tulip and daffodil bulbs for earlier color.
I would love if we could talk more about weed "tea" fertilizers at some point - I started down that rabbit hole a little while ago but so many of the internet sources I could find descend very quickly into pseudoscience and I was left wondering if they were actually effective.
I would love to talk more about this too! There isn't a huge body of peer-reviewed research on them, and I'm very skeptical of extra benefits from "aerated" versions. Stinging nettle has some studies with positive results, although the sample sizes are often small:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9787812/
This isn't necessarily about this post, but I thought this is the best group to tell this story to.
During the pandemic, I took to walking around my neighborhood quite a bit, and somewhere along the way, I came across this GORGEOUS garden in front of a duplex. It was under a pecan tree, so it needed to be shade loving, but the lady who tended it put these lovely variegated gingers and siam tulips and birds of paradise. The garden had a bit of a slope, so the plants were particularly showy, and she managed to eliminate all grass from the garden. There was a lovely single post handrail on the one step going toward the house that I thought was lovely, wrought iron with pretty designs. It was hit hard by the Texas freeze of '21, but it bounced back with a vengeance afterward. I found myself altering my routes to go past it, and on a few occasions, I saw one of the ladies who lived in the house and gave a wave and a word of appreciation for the garden. She was on a walker, but I think she directed the garden activities or maybe even still did them herself. She always waved off my compliments.
Earlier this year, I noticed neglect in the garden, but I chalked it up to transition from winter (though ours was fairly mild this year) to spring. But yesterday, when I went by, I saw the whole thing had been ripped out and the plants were clearly replaced a landscaping company's work. Straight lines of foxtail ferns and the indica of gardening to fill the space and be cared for by a crew that comes by at regular intervals. I suppose it could have been worse, since they didn't try to put grass in. The handrail was gone.
I suppose the gardener had moved and whoever owns the place took over, not realizing that what was there was probably easier to maintain than the swaths of mulch they put down around the foxtail ferns.
That's heartbreaking. Although you're right, at least it's not sod. I hope some of those plants found homes - everyone I know in landscaping ends up with a little summer plant orphanage of stuff we had to rip out but couldn't bear to dump.
Me too. I get that not everyone is a gardener, but I think a lot of non-gardeners don't really get that the landscaped gardens actually require more work than one like what was there before.
Wait, how are beans an indicator of herbicide residue? Like will they just not grow?
What Lilli said -there's a good overview here with a photo comparison:
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/conducting-a-bioassay-for-herbicide-residues
They’ll most likely germinate but look very unhappy - yellow leaves, spindly unhealthy plants, irregular leaf shapes etc
Ahhh, I grew up in a suburb of Toledo and haven’t been back that way in a very long time. Thank you for the connection to my old home.
That part of the country has such a wonderful metro park system and so much natural beauty if you know where to look!
<3 I always hear, "oh, maybe it's boring here but we stay for the people," and I do love (many) Toledoans, but. I'm here for the swamp.
(It's globally rare! They're still making wild discoveries in it and there's only a tiny fraction left!)
Some ideas for along the house - roses (some handle part shade!), camellia (but you might be a zone too far north?), lilacs (Google varieties or check out the Floret library for varieties), hydrangeas!!
I just googled this and apparently there are Zone 6B-hardy camellia varieties now! They are so beautiful.
Hi from Zone 6 in Michigan! A few years ago, I re-did my mother’s front border which backed up to a brick wall. I planted a forsythia (they grow very fast) and a Miss Kim lilac, and roses in front of them. You could plant dahlias, but you’ll have to lift and store them for winter. Alternatively, think about some spring bulbs and then hostas to cover the foliage as it dies back.
Hi from across the border! This comment made me realize that I associate forsythia so strongly with farmhouses that it would never have occurred to me to have one here, even though I'm sure I see them in city neighborhoods all the time. That and bulbs are tempting for how early they flower - I want color so badly in the spring.
Do you think you would try a peony? They need direct sun and you have to cage them, but they are pretty and smell divine.
I was going to suggest the same! Plus deer mostly leave them alone, which is a major plus in my deer-filled town. They’re a popular foundation plant here and they just make me so happy
You know, I'm hacking down my last yew and I think it might be sunny enough for a peony! There are so many varieties, it's a whole new avenue for daydreaming, lol.
Peonies are fun! Go for it.
that's what we do - hostas (house came with SO many hostas) + some nice bushes (we have hydrangeas and azaleas) and then dahlias in between. gonna add a forsythia thanks for the tip!
Hostas can be divided very easily and people would buy or take any that you want to unload. I see them on FB Marketplace all the time.
good call! i divided some and left them on the curb, and then felt bad and planted them somewhere else in the yard ha. I'll think more about it, thanks!
If you post on Freecycle that it’s “curb pickup” people will arrive in a flash. But I get it!