Going green just became a little easier on your checkbook.  The Deer Creek Watershed Alliance, a project of the Missouri Botanical Garden, is providing homeowners a financial incentive to reduce rainwater runoff problems.  Residents of fourteen participating St. Louis County municipalities can now apply for a RainScape rebate of up to $2,ooo.oo to establish a rain garden, amend the soil, or install a rain barrel in their yard.

A rain garden is a great solution for existing drainage issues in your yard.  If you have areas in your yard that hold water for hours (or even days) after a downpour, where turf refuses to grow and always looks patchy and weak, a rain garden may be just what you need.  By creating a shallow depression planted with a variety of attractive native plants, rain water can be held and properly absorbed by the soil to replenish groundwater supplies.  This is a great improvement to allowing rainwater to stream off of your property to pollute and flood neighboring creeks and waterways.

Quiet Village Landscaping can design a rain garden that adds beauty to your landscape while improving your property value.  A well planned St. Louis rain garden will also attract a variety of birds and butterflies that your family can enjoy throughout the year.  You can feel good about providing a habitat for these native creatures, reducing water pollution and conserving our soils. Applications for the RainScape rebate program are due by March 1, 2013, so call Quiet Village Landscaping to start planning your future rain garden now!