Rain Garden

Last week we looked at the children's play area in the new Fisherman's Wharf Park in James Bay. Here is another section of the park where a "rain garden" has been created. It doesn't look very impressive yet but when the plantings grow a bit and the trees leaf out it should be more attractive. What's more interesting perhaps is that the park used to be nothing more than a large flat field and all these interesting curves and humps have been landscaped to create a garden that will not only appeal to the eye but will function to improve the ecology of the area. According to Wikipedia, "A rain garden is a planted depression or a hole that allows rainwater runoff from impervious urban areas like roofs, driveways, walkways, parking lots, and compacted lawn areas the opportunity to be absorbed. This reduces rain runoff by allowing stormwater to soak into the ground (as opposed to flowing into storm drains and surface waters which causes erosion, water pollution, flooding, and diminished groundwater)."