CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — If you struggle with rain not draining properly in your yard, a program from the city of Chattanooga that promotes native plants may be the answer.
The best part? You won’t have to pay for it.
Hamilton County Master Gardener Hannah Lanning says, the root systems of these plants are key in helping water drain.
A lot of native plants, a lot of prairie flowers, native grasses, they have a very long, fibrous root system that goes way into the soil.
According to Lanning, most of our yards have turf grass which have smaller roots.
That doesn’t give water much room to absorb into the soil.
But residents don’t need to bear the cost of sustainably landscaping their yards alone.
The city of Chattanooga says it will help cover the cost of some native plants like the cone-flower and milkweed, which are absorbent.
Erik Hancock, a spokesperson for the City of Chattanooga’s Stormwater Management, says the city’s RainSmart program will also help cover the cost of rain barrels and rain gardens.
“There’s a bunch of other different benefits and compensations that we offer for different programs within that RainSmart umbrella, and it kind of just depends on the resident’s property.”
Hancock says these gardens not only help with drainage on personal property, but also help the city manage stormwater runoff.
“If it falls on an impervious surface, that means a surface that can’t absorb water, then it’s just going to fall straight out into the road, whereas if it falls on something like a rain garden or some kind of catchment, then it’ll stay on that person’s property.”
Hancock also says these plants also help unwanted materials from getting into local water ways like the Tennessee River.
Lanning says one of the best ways to get started is pay attention to your own yard.
“Just look outside the window on a rainy day, see where that rain is going. And then once you know where the rain is coming from and where it’s going, then you can know how to address it.”
To learn more about native plants or best landscaping practices, visit the City of Chattanooga’s website.
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