Rain Gardens Fuel Growth, Resilience, and Tax Credits
January 2024. Oscar Ortega: Rain gardens (also known as bioswales) do more than refuel LA’s groundwater table to support water independence. They fuel a garden’s growth and endurance, rain or shine.
The quick establishment of the Sustainable Storybook Garden, which will be featured on the Garden Conservancy’s 2024 LA Open Days, exemplifies their impact. Planted in 2022, the front garden filled to the brim with lush leafy foliage by the spring of 2023.
While rain gardens planted in low-rain take longer to establish, they still tend to outperform their peers. The bioswales in the Authentic Foothill Gardens at Sierra Madre City Hall and the Matloff Family Home exemplify their skill at ensuring a garden thrives in drought.
Even as bioswales fuel the resilience of a garden’s foliage, they support the resilience of wildlife. Bees, butterflies, as well as many birds and other fauna need very shallow fresh water. The National Wildlife Federation notes that hydration found in these features often serves them better than bird baths and other water features.
When correctly created, these beautiful features can also fuel a family’s tax resilience, a testament to just how much LA needs to start sinking rainfall to secure our water future. Ready to head out back with a shovel? While rain gardens may look like simple topographical shifts, highly technical substrates determine their impact and safety, and the Safe Clean Water Program Tax Credits require an engineer’s certification. For that reason, we recommend you consult with a professional experienced in creating the features.
